Aides to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert deny he is mulling over the merits of firing Defense Minister Ehud Barak due to the Labor party's opposition to the 2009 budget.
Labor lawmakers decided at a Knesset faction meeting on Monday to vote against the Kadima party's proposed budget next Sunday, at the next regular meeting of the Cabinet. This would create a majority vote against the budget, since the Shas and Pensioners parties also oppose it.
Knesset Finance Committee Chairman Avishai Braverman (Labor) recommended his colleagues demand a 2.5 percent increase in the budget across the board. This flies in the face of Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On’s recommendation that the government slash the defense budget by NIS 2.5 billion.
Labor officials said Tuesday that their ulterior motive was to delay a final vote on the budget until after the Kadima party primaries, set to take place September 17. A new Kadima chairman will significantly affect the structure of any new government coalition.
The budget must be passed regardless of political battles.
Kadima party contender for the chairmanship, Transportation and Road Safety Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, recommended delaying the vote on the budget, for the same reason as his Labor party coalition colleagues.
"The budget must be passed regardless of political battles," said a political source in the Kadima party quoted by the Hebrew-language Haaretz newspaper on Monday. "Barak objects to the budget for political reasons and if the prime minister has no choice, he will consider firing him."
However, IDF Army Radio quoted Olmert aides Tuesday morning as saying the prime minister is not planning to fire the defense minister, even if Labor ministers vote against the 2009 budget proposal.