President Moshe Katzav spent the day meeting with representatives of most of the larger parties, preparing to appoint the Knesset Member who will form the next government. First to meet with Katzav were MKs of the Likud, followed by Labor, Shinui, Shas, the National Union, and Meretz. He will meet with representatives of the other parties tomorrow or the day after.
The purpose of the consultations is to allow the parties to recommend their choice of MK best suited to form the next government. All except Labor, Meretz, and the Arab parties are expected to recommend that Ariel Sharon be appointed to form the government.
The Likud was represented by Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin, MK Ze'ev Boim, and incoming MK Gideon Sa'ar. Asked why the Likud insists on a unity government despite Labor's overwhelming defeat, Rivlin said, "We want to have a stable government with which the People of Israel can solve all its problems. Some 70% of the country wants national unity. If you look at the election results, you see that the parties that wanted unity did very well, while the others were hit hard. If, in the end, we find that we cannot have a unity government, we will form another government; don't worry, Israel will have a government."
The purpose of the consultations is to allow the parties to recommend their choice of MK best suited to form the next government. All except Labor, Meretz, and the Arab parties are expected to recommend that Ariel Sharon be appointed to form the government.
The Likud was represented by Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin, MK Ze'ev Boim, and incoming MK Gideon Sa'ar. Asked why the Likud insists on a unity government despite Labor's overwhelming defeat, Rivlin said, "We want to have a stable government with which the People of Israel can solve all its problems. Some 70% of the country wants national unity. If you look at the election results, you see that the parties that wanted unity did very well, while the others were hit hard. If, in the end, we find that we cannot have a unity government, we will form another government; don't worry, Israel will have a government."