Shas did not vote against the government’s emergency economic bill today - but it looks as if the gesture was not enough to mollify Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The bill passed its re-vote by a 65-26 count, with 7 abstentions and many MKs - among them all 17 from Shas and some of United Torah Judaism - not present. Shas had hoped that its decision not to vote again against the bill would enable Sharon to retract his letters of dismissal to the four Shas ministers. The Prime Minister fired them from the government on Monday night after they voted against the cuts and provided the bill\'s margin of defeat. As of late this afternoon, Sharon showed no signs of giving in.
The bill in question calls for the cutting of 13 billion shekels from the national budget, and many of its clauses aroused objections in various sectors. Shas and United Torah Judaism particularly object to the cuts in child allowances, which they say will lead to the addition of thousands of families on the country\'s poverty rolls. Education Minister Limor Livnat did not show up for Monday\'s vote, in protest of cuts that would have led to the firing of 1,500 teachers. After being rebuked, she voted in favor today - and a few hours later it was announced that the Finance Ministry had agreed that only 300 teachers would be fired.
Sharon intimated yesterday that in order to retract the Shas and UTJ dismissals, he would accept nothing less than their vote in favor of the proposal. However, Shas leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef decided this morning that his party would meet Sharon only halfway. In the remaining hours before the dismissals take effect, the Prime Minister may either retract them, enter into a form of negotiations with Shas (his 2nd-largest coalition party member), or do nothing - in which case the coalition will be left as of shortly after midnight with only 60 MKs.
The country is awaiting Sharon\'s next moves with bated breath. The Prime Minister himself said today that Shas was wasting time because the matter had already been decided, but some of his close aides still hope to change his mind. Finance Minister Silvan Shalom said that Sharon wanted to make it clear that ministers must not vote against government decisions - implying that their non-vote today might be an acceptable form of \"repentance.\" Likud Knesset faction leader MK Ze\'ev Boim said he was sure that Sharon would consult with the MKs before making such a decision regarding the \"historic alliance\" between the Likud and Shas.
Conventional wisdom is that if the dismissals of the Shas ministers stand, one of two alternatives will occur: Either early elections will be held, because a Likud-Labor coalition bolstered by the Shinui or National-Union-Yisrael Beiteinu parties will not be stable for long; or, more likely, Shas will return to the government within a matter of weeks.
The bill in question calls for the cutting of 13 billion shekels from the national budget, and many of its clauses aroused objections in various sectors. Shas and United Torah Judaism particularly object to the cuts in child allowances, which they say will lead to the addition of thousands of families on the country\'s poverty rolls. Education Minister Limor Livnat did not show up for Monday\'s vote, in protest of cuts that would have led to the firing of 1,500 teachers. After being rebuked, she voted in favor today - and a few hours later it was announced that the Finance Ministry had agreed that only 300 teachers would be fired.
Sharon intimated yesterday that in order to retract the Shas and UTJ dismissals, he would accept nothing less than their vote in favor of the proposal. However, Shas leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef decided this morning that his party would meet Sharon only halfway. In the remaining hours before the dismissals take effect, the Prime Minister may either retract them, enter into a form of negotiations with Shas (his 2nd-largest coalition party member), or do nothing - in which case the coalition will be left as of shortly after midnight with only 60 MKs.
The country is awaiting Sharon\'s next moves with bated breath. The Prime Minister himself said today that Shas was wasting time because the matter had already been decided, but some of his close aides still hope to change his mind. Finance Minister Silvan Shalom said that Sharon wanted to make it clear that ministers must not vote against government decisions - implying that their non-vote today might be an acceptable form of \"repentance.\" Likud Knesset faction leader MK Ze\'ev Boim said he was sure that Sharon would consult with the MKs before making such a decision regarding the \"historic alliance\" between the Likud and Shas.
Conventional wisdom is that if the dismissals of the Shas ministers stand, one of two alternatives will occur: Either early elections will be held, because a Likud-Labor coalition bolstered by the Shinui or National-Union-Yisrael Beiteinu parties will not be stable for long; or, more likely, Shas will return to the government within a matter of weeks.