Waging Peace To the End.(Shimon Peres)(Interview)

The day Israel's government collapsed last week, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres spent hours doing what he's best known for: trying to broker an agreement, this time between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Labor Party leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. For the indefatigable Peres, saving the government was a national imperative. But he also had a personal stake.

He has served as a member of Parliament for the past 49 years and as a minister in most cabinets since the 1960s. Yet the breakup of Sharon's "national unity" government could send Peres packing up his government office for good. He has already turned down an offer to continue serving as Sharon's foreign minister without the Labor Party onboard. By the time new elections are held next year, Peres will be 80, and though no one rules out another go-round--least of all, him--a new generation of Labor Party leaders is storming the gate. He spoke last week at the Foreign Ministry with NEWSWEEK's Dan Ephron. Excerpts:

EPHRON: This government was broader and more stable than most in Israel. How do you explain its collapse?

PERES: A national-unity government is not something natural. It contains two different streams. And I would say that while it better serves the country, it is very difficult for the parties because each of them has to live in an uneasy environment... On top of that, we're nearing the national elections and the primaries in the parties, so each of the leaders wants to convince his party that he is determined and tough and clear.

What happened in the prime minister's office in those last hours of negotiation between Sharon and Ben-Eliezer?

We were very close to reaching an agreement. As a matter of fact, I thought we reached an agreement. But, without criticizing either of the men, both were ultimately short of generosity. Had we had a few more hours, I think we would have ended the negotiation successfully.

Why were you fighting to keep the government together?