The coalition negotiations between Ariel Sharon’s staff and the political parties began today. The Likud team, headed by Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, met with the One Israel committee, headed by Labor MK Ra’anan Cohen.
The party’s Knesset Members convened this afternoon in an attempt to come to some decisions regarding the future of the party and its leadership. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin announced there that he backs Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg for the position of Labor Party leader. \"Burg will be able to unite the party, and rebuild our bridges with the religious and with the Arabs,\" Beilin said. He said that he supports his mentor Shimon Peres for the as yet non-existent position of President of the party. Peres said he is not interested in serving as either temporary or permanent party leader.
Labor party members are divided on the question of whether to join a unity government; Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, for instance, says he will quit the party if it joins Sharon\'s government, and Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami has also come out against the notion. Other Laborites took a middle road. Outgoing Absorption Minister Yuli Tamir recommends that the party not join the government for the next four months, but rather support it from the outside while Labor gets itself in order and chooses its leadership. Tamir was brought into national politics by Ehud Barak, who plucked her from relative obscurity 20 months ago to be the second woman in his Cabinet.
Former MK Effie Oshaya, who will become a Labor party Knesset Member upon Barak’s resignation, made similar comments today. Speaking with Arutz-7 this afternoon, Oshaya said, \"A new Prime Minister has been elected, so let’s give him a chance. I’m in favor of unity, but not fake unity; if the state of Israel is important, then let’s stay in the opposition and fight for what we believe - but let\'s vote for the budget that our own party and Finance Minister proposed, and let\'s give the government a chance to seek peace, if it can... Those [in Labor] who want a national unity government are just looking out for their own political careers...\"
The party’s Knesset Members convened this afternoon in an attempt to come to some decisions regarding the future of the party and its leadership. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin announced there that he backs Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg for the position of Labor Party leader. \"Burg will be able to unite the party, and rebuild our bridges with the religious and with the Arabs,\" Beilin said. He said that he supports his mentor Shimon Peres for the as yet non-existent position of President of the party. Peres said he is not interested in serving as either temporary or permanent party leader.
Labor party members are divided on the question of whether to join a unity government; Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, for instance, says he will quit the party if it joins Sharon\'s government, and Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami has also come out against the notion. Other Laborites took a middle road. Outgoing Absorption Minister Yuli Tamir recommends that the party not join the government for the next four months, but rather support it from the outside while Labor gets itself in order and chooses its leadership. Tamir was brought into national politics by Ehud Barak, who plucked her from relative obscurity 20 months ago to be the second woman in his Cabinet.
Former MK Effie Oshaya, who will become a Labor party Knesset Member upon Barak’s resignation, made similar comments today. Speaking with Arutz-7 this afternoon, Oshaya said, \"A new Prime Minister has been elected, so let’s give him a chance. I’m in favor of unity, but not fake unity; if the state of Israel is important, then let’s stay in the opposition and fight for what we believe - but let\'s vote for the budget that our own party and Finance Minister proposed, and let\'s give the government a chance to seek peace, if it can... Those [in Labor] who want a national unity government are just looking out for their own political careers...\"