One of Labor party chairman Ehud Barak's political options is to form a unity government with Likud, headed by former Prime Minister Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert suspends himself or quits, political analysts speculated Wednesday morning. Barak, who also is Defense Minister, met with concerned Labor ministers Tuesday and apparently will announce Wednesday afternoon that the Prime Minister cannot continue to run the government at the same time the criminal probe against him intensifies.
Forming a unity government with Likud and Shas is an alternative if Prime Minister Olmert steps down. Both the Prime Minister and Labor chairman Barak are anxious to keep Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni from heading the government. They consider her to be too weak to lead a government, and coalition partner Shas also is not comfortable with a woman heading the government.
However, a unity government is considered to be a temporary solution, and all media analyses point to elections before the end of the year.