The coalition agreement between the two parties was not signed, however, as Peretz said he wishes to bring it before the Labor Party Knesset faction for its ratification. Olmert made no such request regarding his party faction.
If the no-deputy-ministers clause is ratified by Labor, as expected, it will mark the first time in many years that the large parties do not claim deputy ministerships. Only United Torah Judaism will be exempt from this clause, as for reasons of not wanting to take full part in a Zionist government, it traditionally demands only deputy ministers and not full-fledged ministers.
Labor will receive the Ministries of Defense and Education in the government to be formed, as well as three more minor ministries, and two Cabinet seats without portfolio - for an unprecedented total of seven ministerial positions for their 19 Knesset Members.
The new Defense Minister will be Labor Chairman Amir Peretz, whose lack of experience in defense matters has rendered his appointment somewhat controversial. Though Peretz himself would have preferred to receive the Finance Ministry, Kadima never considered such a move, given Peretz's socialist philosophy. The third senior portfolio, Foreign Affairs, was also out of Peretz's grasp, largely because of his lack of knowledge of English.
The Education Ministry will be given to Labor's Yuli Tamir, a former Professor of Political Philosophy. She was one of the founders of Peace Now, but left the organization because it did not accept her desire to conduct then-illegal meetings with PLO leaders. As Minister of Absorption in Ehud Barak's government, she ordered ministry officials to advise the Palestinian Authority on the absorption of refugees within its territories.
Labor and Kadima also agreed that the minimum monthly wage would not be upped immediately to $1,000 (4,550 shekels), as per Labor's demand, but would rather rise by 500 shekels over the course of the next 15 months. The minimum wage currently stands at 3,456 shekels.
The appointments of Peretz and Tamir caused some strife within Kadima, upsetting at least two leading members. Uriel Reichman announced yesterday that he was quitting the Knesset and the party in response to Ehud Olmert's refusal to name him Education Minister. Founder of the left-wing anti-religious Shinui party, Reichman joined Kadima several months ago when the now-comatose Ariel Sharon promised to appoint him as Education Minister.
With Reichman's resignation from the Knesset, Shai Hermesh - the former treasurer of the Jewish Agency and #30 on Kadima's list of Knesset candidates - will become a Knesset Member.
Adding to the bitterness within Kadima, current Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz is peeved at the decision to give his job to Peretz. Mofaz has reportedly been offered the position of Minister of Industry and Trade.
Outgoing Education Minister Meir Sheetrit of Kadima is miffed as well at not receiving the Finance Ministry, which has been offered to Olmert-ally MK Avraham Hirschson.
Within Labor, strong criticism has been directed at party leader Amir Peretz for the way he handled the coalition negotiations. Former Labor leader Amram Mitzna said today, "People were convinced to join the Labor party list, to leave other careers and tell the public that Labor wants a new type of politics - and now, they have been all but left out. People like Professor Avishai Braverman [former Dean of the University of the Negev] and Ami Ayalon [former GSS Director] and even [radio broadcaster] Shelly Yechimovitch... The public was lied to, period. The excuses we are now hearing about how experience is important, and the like, were not sounded during the election campaign."
On the other hand, a senior Labor figure said in defense of Peretz, "There are some new people in Labor who decided that they have to be ministers in their first term in the Knesset, before they even know how to submit a Knesset query. Amir Peretz brought this party a great achievement that no one dreamt of. A year ago, this party looked like a graveyard, and now we are the second-largest party and the senior partner in the coalition."
Shas continues to up its coalition demands, and now claims no fewer than four ministerial portfolios.
Yisrael Beiteinu, the Russian immigrants' party headed by Avigdor Lieberman, will announce today whether it plans to join the coalition. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz announced that because of an ongoing police investigation against Lieberman, he is not eligible to serve as Public Security Minister. The investigation is five years old, and has barely progressed at all in recent years. Only after Lieberman announced his plans to seek the Public Security ministry did the police resume work on it. Lieberman said that Mazuz's decision was simply a political ploy against him, and called on Olmert to ignore it - which Olmert implied he would not do.
Though this initially appeared to put a wrench in Olmert's plans to include Yisrael Beiteinu in his coalition, Lieberman indicated today that he would accept a different ministerial position.
In the opposition, Silvan Shalom is leading a move to advance the Likud's primaries and unseat Binyamin Netanyahu. He sharply attacked Netanyahu today, apportioning him full blame for the party's resounding defeat in the elections. "So many people left the party and formed new ones because of Netanyahu," Shalom said. "David Levy started Gesher, and Sharon and Olmert left and started Kadima, and Benny Begin - the National Union [sic; he started Herut, which joined the National Union], and Yitzchak Mordechai, Dan Meridor and Roni Milo to the Center Party. I don't know what he has that causes this, but this is the fact... Now is the time to rebuild the Likud, not write books. He has fired most of the party's workers, but not his own secretaries... The party has gigantic debts, and no one is doing anything about it."
Netanyahu's office responded that Shalom would be better advised to try to "shore up ranks within the party and attack the wasteful Kadima-Labor government, instead of trying to undermine the party leadership."
If the no-deputy-ministers clause is ratified by Labor, as expected, it will mark the first time in many years that the large parties do not claim deputy ministerships. Only United Torah Judaism will be exempt from this clause, as for reasons of not wanting to take full part in a Zionist government, it traditionally demands only deputy ministers and not full-fledged ministers.
Labor will receive the Ministries of Defense and Education in the government to be formed, as well as three more minor ministries, and two Cabinet seats without portfolio - for an unprecedented total of seven ministerial positions for their 19 Knesset Members.
The new Defense Minister will be Labor Chairman Amir Peretz, whose lack of experience in defense matters has rendered his appointment somewhat controversial. Though Peretz himself would have preferred to receive the Finance Ministry, Kadima never considered such a move, given Peretz's socialist philosophy. The third senior portfolio, Foreign Affairs, was also out of Peretz's grasp, largely because of his lack of knowledge of English.
The Education Ministry will be given to Labor's Yuli Tamir, a former Professor of Political Philosophy. She was one of the founders of Peace Now, but left the organization because it did not accept her desire to conduct then-illegal meetings with PLO leaders. As Minister of Absorption in Ehud Barak's government, she ordered ministry officials to advise the Palestinian Authority on the absorption of refugees within its territories.
Labor and Kadima also agreed that the minimum monthly wage would not be upped immediately to $1,000 (4,550 shekels), as per Labor's demand, but would rather rise by 500 shekels over the course of the next 15 months. The minimum wage currently stands at 3,456 shekels.
The appointments of Peretz and Tamir caused some strife within Kadima, upsetting at least two leading members. Uriel Reichman announced yesterday that he was quitting the Knesset and the party in response to Ehud Olmert's refusal to name him Education Minister. Founder of the left-wing anti-religious Shinui party, Reichman joined Kadima several months ago when the now-comatose Ariel Sharon promised to appoint him as Education Minister.
With Reichman's resignation from the Knesset, Shai Hermesh - the former treasurer of the Jewish Agency and #30 on Kadima's list of Knesset candidates - will become a Knesset Member.
Adding to the bitterness within Kadima, current Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz is peeved at the decision to give his job to Peretz. Mofaz has reportedly been offered the position of Minister of Industry and Trade.
Outgoing Education Minister Meir Sheetrit of Kadima is miffed as well at not receiving the Finance Ministry, which has been offered to Olmert-ally MK Avraham Hirschson.
Within Labor, strong criticism has been directed at party leader Amir Peretz for the way he handled the coalition negotiations. Former Labor leader Amram Mitzna said today, "People were convinced to join the Labor party list, to leave other careers and tell the public that Labor wants a new type of politics - and now, they have been all but left out. People like Professor Avishai Braverman [former Dean of the University of the Negev] and Ami Ayalon [former GSS Director] and even [radio broadcaster] Shelly Yechimovitch... The public was lied to, period. The excuses we are now hearing about how experience is important, and the like, were not sounded during the election campaign."
On the other hand, a senior Labor figure said in defense of Peretz, "There are some new people in Labor who decided that they have to be ministers in their first term in the Knesset, before they even know how to submit a Knesset query. Amir Peretz brought this party a great achievement that no one dreamt of. A year ago, this party looked like a graveyard, and now we are the second-largest party and the senior partner in the coalition."
Shas continues to up its coalition demands, and now claims no fewer than four ministerial portfolios.
Yisrael Beiteinu, the Russian immigrants' party headed by Avigdor Lieberman, will announce today whether it plans to join the coalition. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz announced that because of an ongoing police investigation against Lieberman, he is not eligible to serve as Public Security Minister. The investigation is five years old, and has barely progressed at all in recent years. Only after Lieberman announced his plans to seek the Public Security ministry did the police resume work on it. Lieberman said that Mazuz's decision was simply a political ploy against him, and called on Olmert to ignore it - which Olmert implied he would not do.
Though this initially appeared to put a wrench in Olmert's plans to include Yisrael Beiteinu in his coalition, Lieberman indicated today that he would accept a different ministerial position.
In the opposition, Silvan Shalom is leading a move to advance the Likud's primaries and unseat Binyamin Netanyahu. He sharply attacked Netanyahu today, apportioning him full blame for the party's resounding defeat in the elections. "So many people left the party and formed new ones because of Netanyahu," Shalom said. "David Levy started Gesher, and Sharon and Olmert left and started Kadima, and Benny Begin - the National Union [sic; he started Herut, which joined the National Union], and Yitzchak Mordechai, Dan Meridor and Roni Milo to the Center Party. I don't know what he has that causes this, but this is the fact... Now is the time to rebuild the Likud, not write books. He has fired most of the party's workers, but not his own secretaries... The party has gigantic debts, and no one is doing anything about it."
Netanyahu's office responded that Shalom would be better advised to try to "shore up ranks within the party and attack the wasteful Kadima-Labor government, instead of trying to undermine the party leadership."