DEBKAfile Special Report October 24, 2008, 11:11 AM (GMT+02:00) Tzipi Livni runs out of time The ultra-religious Shas party’s rabbinical council finally put paid Friday, Oct. 24, to foreign minister Tzipi Livni’s prospects of forming a government. The veto imposed on Shas joining her government came in response to the announcement she made to her Kadima party Thursday that she would call on President Shimon Peres Sunday, Oct. 26 for a final decision between continuing negotiations for a coalition government or calling an early general election. Her options boiled down Friday to the latter. Her negotiations with Labor and other potential partners, including Shas and the Pensioners, failed to meet their demands for substantial extra allocations for large families, senior citizens and healthcare, before signing on. Shas also demanded that Jerusalem be removed from peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Finance minister Ronnie Bar-On, Livni’s mainstay in their Kadima party, stood firm against reopening the 2009 State Budget to accommodate her. DEBKAfile’s political sources disclose that Bar-On decided to obstruct Livni after learning she intended to sack him as finance minister in her government. The foreign minister was unable to reconcile the extremes, because when it came down to it, none of her prospective partners respect her ability to fill the exacting function of prime minister of Israel. While solidly supported by the media, Livni never rose to the role of national leader. She ignored the general public, omitting to put forward a platform on security, foreign and social affairs or education She never once took a stand on the global financial crisis already hitting Israel’s job market. Her other mistake was to cut the party faithful out of her negotiations, forfeiting their support. She used the wheelers-dealers of the former prime minister Ariel Sharon and the outgoing premier Ehud Olmert as her lead negotiators. Not surprisingly, half of Kadima, led by Bar-On and the transport minister Shaul Mofaz, whom she defeated in the leadership primary, turned against her and refused to back her efforts. They vowed to defeat her if she tried to form a minority government, which was all she could hope to scrape together in the time allotted her. Labor was the only party to initial a deal with Kadima. Although its leader, defense minister Ehud Barak stipulated that it was not final, he has lost face over his association with Livni’s failed effort. In the end, Livni told her party that it was time for decisions. She had been willing to pay a price for coalition partners, but not any price, and would therefore call on the president, which is tantamount to throwing in her hand. The likeliest date for a general election falls in the first quarter of 2009 at the earliest. The Olmert government stays on as caretaker until a new government is formed.
Shas rabbis veto Livni-led cabinet. Israel nears elections
Friday, 24 October 2008
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