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World Jewish News
Sheetrit: Kadima won't join far-right government
12.02.2009
Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said Thursday that Kadima would not join an extreme right-wing government led by Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is expected to ask Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni to join his coalition, and may offer the rival party portfolios of foreign affairs and defense.
In an interview with Army Radio, Sheetrit said that Kadima would not allow itself to be persuaded into joining a government with values opposing the party lines.
"We will join a Netanyahu government only if it is not an extreme right-wing government," he said. "We are not afraid to sit in the opposition."
The interior minister also said that Livni was still making every effort to form a coalition under her authority, despite Netanyahu's own efforts to lure Kadima into joining his government.
Sheetrit told Israel Radio in a separate interview that if he were Netanyahu, he would have called together a trilateral meeting with Livni and Labor Chairman Ehud Barak in order to form a coalition comprising Likud, Kadima and Labor led by whoever received the most number of seats according to a final tally of results.
"We need to think about what's best for Israel and get away from the politics," he said. "Currently, it seems most likely that the government to be formed will be an extremist religious coalition led by Netanyahu."
"If a government like this is established I anticipate it will have a very hard life, and the lives of Israel's citizens will be even harder," he added. "With all due respect to Netanyahu, he can not manage a government like that. He will have trouble in every realm."
Despite her slim chance of being able to form a government, Livni on Wednesday pledged to make every effort to do so "for my voters."
However, she said she would not pay "an exorbitant price" for other parties' agreement to join her.
"I can also put together a coalition that is united around the peace process. Netanyahu doesn't want that, and couldn't do it even if he did, with his right wing partners," Livni said.
Despite Livni's vow to continue trying to forge a government, some Kadima officials have said Netanyahu will likely be the next prime minister. "We won the battle, but lost the war," said one minister.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu is already meeting some difficulty with forging a coalition, even among his natural partners.
National Union Chairman Ya'akov Katz told Army Radio on Thursday that he was not sure his faction would recommend to President Shimon Peres to call on Netanyahu to form the government.
Источник: Haaretz
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