The firing of Minister Yossi Paritzky of the Shinui Party might have been the last straw - and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon now knows he must expand his government or forever be in danger of being toppled. He has therefore scheduled a meeting for Monday morning with Labor Party leader Shimon Peres. Opposition to a national unity government including the Likud and Labor exists within both parties, however.
Within the Likud, Ministers Netanyahu, Shalom and Landau are against inviting Labor to join, as are some ten more MKs who oppose the disengagement plan. At least four of Labor's 21 MKs are also known to be against joining the Sharon-led government: Amir Peretz, Yuli Tamir, Eitan Cabel and Colette Avital. Tamir and Cabel met last night to draft their campaign strategy.
Shimon Peres, on the other hand, as well as leading Labor figures Chaim Ramon, Dalia Itzik and others, are very much in favor of joining the government. They have laid down various conditions, however. Itzik said yesterday that "our price has gone up, and I don't mean in portfolios." Peres said on Friday that he would demand PA cooperation in the withdrawal from Gaza as well as a change in the government's economic policies. Former party leader Amram Mitzna, who originally opposed a unity government, now says he would not object, under the following circumstances: the disengagement/withdrawal plan is assigned a detailed timetable, changes are made in the budget, and the partition fence is rebuilt along the Supreme Court-approved route.
Another senior Labor figure, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, says he is very pessimistic about chances for a unity government, but has set three conditions just in case: a clear disengagement timetable, changes in the budget, and an end to the unity negotiations before the Knesset begins its summer recess.
It has been said that Sharon began to realize that he was in trouble when he suffered an embarrassing 56-56 tie vote on a no-confidence motion last week - and concluded that this was the case when circumstances forced him this morning to fire a coalition member, Yossi Paritzky of Shinui (see below). Though Shinui has all but removed Paritzky from its ranks - he will not be allowed to attend party meetings or speak on its behalf, for instance - he does not yet plan to resign from the Knesset, and the government can no longer count on his vote in its favor.
The bottom line is that Sharon is currently relying on 58 votes - 40 from the Likud, 14 from Shinui, and 4 from the NRP. In matters relating to the disengagement, this number could go down to 42 - though left-wing and even Arab MKs will probably provide support in such votes. In the upcoming budget negotiations, every vote will be critical.
Within the Likud, Ministers Netanyahu, Shalom and Landau are against inviting Labor to join, as are some ten more MKs who oppose the disengagement plan. At least four of Labor's 21 MKs are also known to be against joining the Sharon-led government: Amir Peretz, Yuli Tamir, Eitan Cabel and Colette Avital. Tamir and Cabel met last night to draft their campaign strategy.
Shimon Peres, on the other hand, as well as leading Labor figures Chaim Ramon, Dalia Itzik and others, are very much in favor of joining the government. They have laid down various conditions, however. Itzik said yesterday that "our price has gone up, and I don't mean in portfolios." Peres said on Friday that he would demand PA cooperation in the withdrawal from Gaza as well as a change in the government's economic policies. Former party leader Amram Mitzna, who originally opposed a unity government, now says he would not object, under the following circumstances: the disengagement/withdrawal plan is assigned a detailed timetable, changes are made in the budget, and the partition fence is rebuilt along the Supreme Court-approved route.
Another senior Labor figure, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, says he is very pessimistic about chances for a unity government, but has set three conditions just in case: a clear disengagement timetable, changes in the budget, and an end to the unity negotiations before the Knesset begins its summer recess.
It has been said that Sharon began to realize that he was in trouble when he suffered an embarrassing 56-56 tie vote on a no-confidence motion last week - and concluded that this was the case when circumstances forced him this morning to fire a coalition member, Yossi Paritzky of Shinui (see below). Though Shinui has all but removed Paritzky from its ranks - he will not be allowed to attend party meetings or speak on its behalf, for instance - he does not yet plan to resign from the Knesset, and the government can no longer count on his vote in its favor.
The bottom line is that Sharon is currently relying on 58 votes - 40 from the Likud, 14 from Shinui, and 4 from the NRP. In matters relating to the disengagement, this number could go down to 42 - though left-wing and even Arab MKs will probably provide support in such votes. In the upcoming budget negotiations, every vote will be critical.