Top Israeli Parties Forge Coalition Deal
Kadima's Livni Inches Closer to Top Post
Tzipi Livni, Israeli foreign minister and head of the ruling Kadima party, is seeking to replace Ehud Olmert as prime minister.
(Pool Photo By Jim Hollander Via Associated Press)
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
JERUSALEM, Oct. 13 -- After marathon negotiations, Israel's Kadima and Labor parties on Monday evening tentatively approved a coalition agreement that boosts Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's chances of securing the nation's top job.
The agreement is the first tangible step in a bid by Livni, Kadima's leader, to put together a government after Ehud Olmert resigned as prime minister last month. It promises Labor leader Ehud Barak "senior partnership" in the government and will make him a "full partner" in the peace talks, said Lior Avnon, a Barak spokeswoman. Barak has served as defense minister under Olmert.
Although the deal makes it likely that there will be an alliance between the centrist Kadima and the center-left Labor, Avnon said details remained to be worked out before Labor officially backed Livni's efforts.
Livni will also need the support of several smaller parties before she can form a government that includes the majority of members in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. The ultra-Orthodox Shas party is considered crucial to the efforts.
"This will be a broad coalition, not just the Labor Party but also Shas and other parties," said Otniel Schneller, a Knesset member from Kadima.
Olmert, who was forced to step down because of corruption allegations, continues to serve as caretaker prime minister. Livni won a primary last month that allowed her to succeed Olmert as Kadima's leader, and President Shimon Peres has given her until the beginning of November to try to form a government.
If Livni cannot get it done, Israel faces early parliamentary elections next year. Polls show that either Livni or Binyamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, would stand the best chance of winning that vote.
Livni last week visited Acre, the site of recent Jewish-Arab clashes, in a move interpreted as an attempt to demonstrate her leadership credentials. She also met Sunday with Shaul Mofaz, who lost narrowly to Livni in the primary, to portray her party as unified.
"Yesterday all the obstacles were removed in Kadima, and Kadima is united. That was the first stage of the new government," said Schneller, a close associate of the hawkish Mofaz. "The signing of the agreement today between Labor and Kadima is the second stage."
