Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni sent a partial draft coalition agreement to Labor party leader Ehud Barak on Sunday afternoon, with an eye to concluding coalition talks by Monday. A deal with Labor is seen as a prerequisite to talks with the hareidi-religious Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, the left wing Meretz party and the Gil Pensioners' party. Livni told several cabinet ministers, "It's not healthy that these negotiations are taking so long."
Under the agreement, Barak would be named a senior deputy prime minister in a Kadima-led coalition and play a significant role in negotiations with Syria. According to Channel 10 television, Livni has denied Barak's demand to personally oversee those negotiations. Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's initiative to limit Supreme Court powers would also be curbed and an agreement would be reached on supplemental benefits to pensioners and college students without expanding the budget.
Sources in Kadima said Sunday morning that a deal between the two parties was expected shortly, despite Barak's having canceled a meeting scheduled with Livni. Following the cancellation, Kadima central committee chairman Tzachi Hanegbi approached him and the two agreed to continue working on the draft.
Barak told Labor ministers on Sunday that he was acting "with an open mind to complete the conditions for a new government." A Barak associate said that ordered Labor negotiators "to complete the negotiations tonight."
Transportation and Road Safety Minister Shaul Mofaz, who announced Saturday night that he was not leaving politics, told a meeting of the Kadima party governing committee Sunday night "My place is in public service. It's where I've always been happiest and where I will stay." Following a narrow loss to Livni in last month's race for leadership of Kadima, Mofaz had said he was taking a break from politics and that he would not continue as a minister in the new government that Livni is trying to build. On Sunday night he said, "After much deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that this is the place from which I can continue to contribute." He received thunderous applause when he said, "As one with a central role in the movement, I will help as much as I am asked."