After Golda, Abba?

The early-form choice for Premier of Israel after Golda Meir steps down next year was Pinhas Sapir, 64, the hardfisted Finance Minister and boss of the ruling Labor Party machine. But Sapir has had a series of personal misfortunes--the death of his wife a few months ago, the illness of a favorite grandson, major stomach surgery--and is known to be reconsidering his political future.

So too is a relative newcomer to Israel's internal political wars: Foreign Minister Abba Eban, 57. Newly admitted to the inner circle of the Labor Party's zameret (elite), the mellifluous-voiced diplomat has begun to soften his heavily starched image. He recently allowed himself to be photographed with his attractive blonde wife Suzy at the Suez Canal, wearing an almost shockingly informal tieless dark shirt. A dove in the past, he has begun to adopt a more hawkish--and thus more popular --stance on some issues. To match his new style, he has recruited a small new staff of politically savvy assistants. Sapir, meanwhile, has passed the word around that if he decides not to run next year, Eban would make a fine candidate for the premiership.

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