Labor Party candidates for the positions of minister and deputy minister in Ariel Sharon\'s government have submitted their names, and the elections will be held tomorrow. Fourteen candidates are contending for eight ministerial jobs and four contenders are vying for vice-ministerial slots. Shimon Peres is the only candidate for Foreign Minister, and Shalom Simchon is the only candidate for Agriculture Minister. For Defense Minister, three candidates are in the running: Matan Vilnai, Ephraim Sneh, and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. In a separate election for the remaining posts, the candidates are Dalia Itzik, Nissim Zvilli, Ra\'anan Cohen, Salah Tarif, and others.
Aides to Ariel Sharon say that if the Labor Party\'s Central Committee chooses Ephraim Sneh as Defense Minister tomorrow, Sharon will not be bound by the decision. Sharon, they say, prefers Binyamin Ben-Eliezer for the job, and will grudgingly accept Matan Vilnai, but he will not agree to take Sneh. The Likud is working to speed up coalition negotiations with the right-wing parties. At this stage it appears that the Likud is close to agreements with Shas and the NRP, but there are big problems in talks with the National Union, Yisrael Beiteinu, and Yisrael B\'Aliyah.
Aides to Ariel Sharon say that if the Labor Party\'s Central Committee chooses Ephraim Sneh as Defense Minister tomorrow, Sharon will not be bound by the decision. Sharon, they say, prefers Binyamin Ben-Eliezer for the job, and will grudgingly accept Matan Vilnai, but he will not agree to take Sneh. The Likud is working to speed up coalition negotiations with the right-wing parties. At this stage it appears that the Likud is close to agreements with Shas and the NRP, but there are big problems in talks with the National Union, Yisrael Beiteinu, and Yisrael B\'Aliyah.