Labor leader Amir Peretz defects to Livni’s Hatnuah

Hours before the Thursday 10:00 p.m. deadline for the submission of party lists for the Jan. 22, 2013 Knesset election, a shocker was provided by veteran Labor Knesset Amir Peretz, former defense minister and party secretary and ex-head of the Histadrut Trades Unions Federation.  He announced he was abandoning Labor and joining Hatnuah, the new movement formed by former Foreign Secretary Tzipi Livni after the Kadima party deposed her as leader.
To join Livni’s outfit, Peretz gave up the second spot he won on the Labor slate in the party’s primary.