Not so easy to form a "right wing bloc" government after all

The "right wing bloc" that supposedly supported Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have been a myth. (see The myth of the right wing bloc). The real reason Netanyahu is so avid to form a unity govenment is not patriotism, but political reality. It is not possible to fit the square pegs of the ultraorthodox parties who oppose civil marriage, into the round hole of a coalition with  Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party, which insists on civil marriage.

 

Ami Isseroff

 

Netanyahu asks Peres for 2 more weeks
Mar. 18, 2009
Gil Hoffman , THE JERUSALEM POST

 

Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu will have no choice but to ask President Shimon Peres for two more weeks to form a government, after he renewed his effort to bring Labor into his coalition on Wednesday.

 

Following consultations with Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz, Beit Hanassi officially set midnight Sunday as the final deadline for Netanyahu to form a government.

 

But that deadline became irrelevant when Labor secretary-general Eitan Cabel announced that the convention that would decide whether the party joins the government would not be held until Tuesday.

 

Between now and then, Barak will work to persuade Labor MKs and activists that joining Netanyahu's government is in the best interests of both the country and the party. He had already begun to do so in a meeting with key political allies Wednesday night.

 

Barak officially declared his support for Labor joining the government Wednesday evening in a press release.

 

The statement was issued three weeks after he had announced at Jerusalem's King David Hotel that Labor would be a "responsible and serious opposition" due to the verdict of the voters that brought Labor down from 19 seats to 13 in the February 10 election.

 

"The good of the country, in light of all the challenges facing us - diplomatic, economic and social issues - requires Labor to seriously consider joining the government, and a decision will be made in the party's institutions," Barak said.

 

"We are all emissaries of the party and no one is above it. Most of the country's citizens and most Labor voters want to see the party be a partner to the country's leadership."

 

Barak's press statement came eight hours after Netanyahu issued a statement of his own, calling upon Labor to join the government.

 

"The Labor Party has many leading figures who are experienced and have much to contribute on security, diplomatic, economic and social issues," Netanyahu said.

 

"Their presence in the government would greatly strengthen the country's leadership at this juncture, and would significantly enhance Israel's efforts to successfully meet great challenges standing in its path."

 

Netanyahu has offered Labor five portfolios including defense, two deputy ministers and a Knesset committee chairmanship, even though it is possible there won't even be eight Labor MKs who would support the government if Barak's proposal to join it passes at the convention.

 

Labor MKs Ophir Paz-Pines, Eitan Cabel, Amir Peretz, Shelly Yacimovich and Yuli Tamir fiercely attacked Barak's effort to bring the party into the government and vowed to defeat his proposal at the convention.

 

Besides those five legislators, Social Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog and MKs Avishay Braverman, Orit Noked, and Daniel Ben-Simon have also expressed opposition to joining the coalition, but Barak's associates believe they will end up supporting the proposal.

 

The Labor Youth organization began efforts to pass a proposal that would start the process of toppling Barak at the convention.

 

"Barak's attempt to crawl into the government is killing Labor," Tamir said. "He has abandoned his faith in Labor's path, so he shouldn't be allowed to decide its future."

 

Sources close to Barak expressed confidence that he could pass the proposal, albeit by a small margin. Histadrut Labor Federation chief Ofer Eini will lead Barak's effort to pass the proposal, stressing the need for Labor to be in the coalition to deal with the economic crisis.

 

Likud MKs criticized Netanyahu in closed conversations for offering so many portfolios to a fraction of a party.