While Binyamin Netanyahu continues to entice Kadima, and possibly Labor as well, into a national unity government, at least one leading Likud official says he’s not concerned that the government will turn left.
“Even if [Kadima leader Tzipi] Livni is the Foreign Minister,” Katz told Arutz-7’s Shimon Cohen on Sunday, “Netanyahu will be the Prime Minister, and he’s the one who sets and guides policy.”
Katz also said he was not afraid that Netanyahu’s generous offers of many ministerial portfolios to Kadima would harm his own chances of being in the Cabinet. “I am confident that I will be a minister, no matter what government is formed,” the former Agriculture Minister said.
Netanyahu has repeatedly asked not only Tzipi Livni to join him in a national unity government, but even Labor Party leader Ehud Barak as well. Barak's Labor received only 13 seats in the recent elections - its lowest ever - and his party has already decided that it will remain in the Opposition.
"We're Overcoming Our Emotions"
“From an emotional standpoint,” said Katz, “we in the Likud should not want to see Kadima in the government – because of the shameful way they split off from us [after the Disengagement three years ago], running from room to room to see what positions [Sharon] would offer them, as opposed to joining us in the Opposition. But from a rational point of view, Netanyahu was chosen as Prime Minister, and he has the responsibility of forming a government in the way he sees most suitable, and my colleagues and I give him full support.”
No Contradiction
Despite the attempts to bring center-left Kadima into the government, Katz says that previous agreements between Netanyahu and the nationalist parties are still valid. Asked to explain this apparent contradiction, he presented his thesis that the issues that concern the latter are not necessarily those that occupy Kadima:
“Netanyahu says – and he has shown that he is 101% trustworthy on these issues – that he will not abandon the parties that have gone along with him until now. But at the same time, he wants to try to run the country with broad understandings, notably in issues that are not connected with ideology, such as Iran, terrorism, and the financial crisis around the world.”
Katz is confident that a Likud-Kadima government can make important decisions for Israel, while not making major concessions to the Palestinian Authority: “Keep in mind, that three years of negotiations by Kadima have brought basically nothing, in a practical sense. The Likud has its positions in these areas, and Netanyahu is seeking a broad base for the other issues.”
He Won't Abandon Them - If They Don't Stray Too Far
The fear in the nationalist camp is that Netanyahu, seeking to entice Kadima, will abandon along the way his “natural” partners, such as Shas and the religious/nationalist parties. Katz said there is nothing to worry about: “All agreements that were made continue to be valid, and beyond that, the Likud’s positions on Jerusalem, the Golan, Judea and Samaria, and security also continue to be valid… Netanyahu will not abandon his natural partners – to the extent that they don’t abandon him. On this note, I can add that all the other parties, except for the National Union, expressed their desire for a broad-based government. I advise the National Union to be smart and take a tactical approach as well; it's not wise to remain dogmatic and insist on receiving 100%, thus preventing it from achieving even 90%.”
Arutz-7’s Cohen asked: “Kadima says that you have no path, that you don’t want to leave the Golan or Jerusalem, and that they can therefore not join you in a government. What do you say to that?”
Katz: “The whole point of coalition guidelines is to find a way to include more than one party that have differing positions, without being too restrictive. I personally don’t see the Palestinian issue as being very relevant now, given that Iran is in control of Hamas and Gaza and is threatening to take control of Judea and Samaria if, Heaven forbid, our army is not there... Even if Tzipi Livni is the Foreign Minister, she does not determine government policies; the Prime Minister does. I would not want to be in a government that has a left-wing Prime Minister.”