Anger in Likud at PM's pursuit of Labor

The Jerusalem Post ^ | 31 January 2002 | GIL HOFFMAN

[anotherview]

Jan. 31, 2003
Anger in Likud at PM's pursuit of Labor
By GIL HOFFMAN

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Senior Likud officials expressed anger at Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday for his insistence on forming a national-unity government with the Labor Party, despite the rise of the rightist bloc in the incoming Knesset to 69 MKs.

Sharon declared after his acceptance speech on Tuesday night that he would call a new election if he were faced with no possible government other than a coalition with rightist and religious parties. He made it clear that he does not intend to allow Avigdor Lieberman's National Union to join the coalition.

Final election results released Thursday night gave both the Likud and the National Religious Party an additional MK at the expense of Hadash and Am Ehad, giving Sharon the chance to form a 62-MK rightist government with the NRP, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Yisrael B'Aliya, and without the National Union.

But Sharon's advisers said he is committed to forming a national-unity government, and a coalition with neither Labor nor Shinui is not a possibility. They said Sharon is even willing to let Labor have considerable say in forming the coalition's basic guidelines.

Several senior Likud officials said they do not understand why Sharon continues to chase after Labor, which has emphatically ruled out joining a Sharon-led coalition. They questioned why Sharon is pursuing partners and policies on the Left after the public gave the Likud and the Right a resounding endorsement in the election.

"I don't know why Sharon doesn't want Lieberman and the Right," a Likud MK said. "It scares me, because I don't know what his end game is diplomatically. At first, when Sharon began discussing a Palestinian state, we thought it was merely to ease international pressure.

But now we are starting to internalize that he really does intend to build a Palestinian state. We need to consider in the faction how to prevent this dangerous terrorist state from arising in our midst."

Other than Sharon, the rest of the top 10 of the Likud list oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state. Sharon told Transportation and Environment Minister Tzahi Hanegbi at a cabinet meeting last month that he would not include ministers in his new cabinet who do not agree with his diplomatic plan, which is based on US President George W. Bush's road map.

National Union MK Benny Elon said he still believes Sharon will eventually ask the party to join the coalition.

Likud officials expressed concern that Sharon is willing to sacrifice the party's ideals to make an imprint on history.

Likud MK Ze'ev Boim dismissed the charges. He noted that Sharon said throughout the campaign that he intends to form a national-unity government. He said a narrow rightist government would be more homogeneous, but it would fall victim to small parties which could extort to get their demands.

Sharon intends to meet on Friday with Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, and on Monday with Labor Party chairman Amram Mitzna for preliminary talks on joining the government. He said actual negotiations would not begin until after President Moshe Katsav officially invites him to form a coalition next week.

Katsav invited representatives of the factions to meet with him starting Monday to discuss whom they recommend to form the government. Nearly very faction is expected to recommend Sharon, including Labor, recognizing Sharon's ascension is unquestionable.

Meretz announced it would not recommend anyone. In a Labor faction meeting on Thursday, Shimon Peres was the only MK who expressed opposition to Mitzna's plan to keep the party in opposition. He suggested that Labor should seriously consider joining the government or at least offer the Likud a set of conditions to negotiate.

Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg lashed out at Peres for rocking the boat. "You are hurting the party by not presenting a clear message against joining a unity government," he said. "If we break our promise again, we will disappear from the map."

"This isn't a Bolshevik party in which everyone has to agree," Peres responded, predicting that the party's institutions would not agree to rule out negotiations.

Moderate Likud ministers Dan Meridor and Meir Sheetrit said Labor is making a mistake by not joining the government. "Once again, they will wait outside the government while we make peace," Meridor said.

If Labor does not join the government, Sharon will have a difficult time building a coalition around Shinui, which has refused to sit in a cabinet with Shas. Shinui said on Thursday that it would be willing to sit with United Torah Judaism, evoking anger from Shas chairman Eli Yishai.

"Lapid opposes sitting with Mizrahim," he said. "He doesn't have a problem with Ashkenazi haredim who don't serve in the army. His problem is with Sephardim who represent the weakest sectors. But the entire religious bloc is united, and we won't give Tommy the satisfaction of dividing us."

[Marines981]

Likud - A hawkish party designated at keeping Palestinians from having a state west of the Jordan.
Labor - Group of people with fingers up their butts. Want another Islamic-bred terrorist state alongside their own nation.

[ambrose]

They questioned why Sharon [Bush?] is pursuing partners and policies on the Left after the public gave the Likud [Republicans?] and the Right a resounding endorsement in the election.

[DoughtyOne]

Third Way Third Way Third Way Third Way Third Way Third Way Third Way Third Way Third Way Turd Way
It's nothing more than repackaged leftism in sheep's clothing.  It's not full speed, but the long term effects are the same eventually.

[weikel]

Why does the right always do this? The left is not the loyal opposition they are evil. No compromise should ever be made with them especially when unnessecary.

[weikel]

... Sharon needs to go if this is true. Likud should appoint a new MP to head the party.

[Publius Maximus]

We feel their pain, ambrose, don't we?

[Torie]

Remarkable. Totally remarkable. I am amazed. I must reconsider Sharon. I will reconsider Sharon.

[ambrose]

We sure do feel their pain. I can hardly understand why "conservative" politicians feel it necessary to pander to the left.

[monkeyshine]

Maybe they should form a real national unity government, with all the parties/factions represented in the knesset. The future of Israel is in the balance, everyone should have some say.