It's now all but final: the NRP will quit the government next week. Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev will submit his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Sharon on Tuesday. MKs Slomiansky, Orlev and Finkelstein say, in private conversations, that as Prime Minister Sharon is showing no inclination to agree to a national referendum on the issue of the unilateral withdrawal, "there's nothing keeping us in the government."
Two of the party's six MKs - party leader and then-Minister Effie Eitam and Yitzchak Levy - quit the coalition five months ago, when the Cabinet approved the disengagement plan "in principle." Eitam, Levy, the Yesha Council and much of the religious-Zionist public tried thereafter to get the four remaining MKs to quit as well, explaining that this would be the best way to stop the disengagement snowball. Orlev, however, resisted all pressures, saying that the best way to prevent the expulsion was to fight from within. MK Yahalom often explained that previous "escapades" by the right-wing in toppling right-wing governments did not succeed, leading to the rise of left-wing governments instead.
Last week, however, a change occurred for the first time. Shortly before the Knesset vote ratifying the Cabinet decision nine days ago, Minister Orlev presented a letter of ultimatum, with the backing of leading rabbis and much of the Yesha Council. The ultimatum stated that if Prime Minister Sharon would give his consent to hold a referendum on the withdrawal plan, the NRP would remain in the government until the end of the term. If, however, within 14 days, Prime Minister Sharon would not agree to the idea, the party would quit.
Despite Minister Netanyahu's similar ultimatum, no change has been seen in Sharon's position, and the NRP is set to draw the appropriate conclusions. The final decision will be made on Monday.
It also appears likely that Netanyahu is intent on quitting, taking with him an unknown number of Likud MKs and much public support. Sharon would thus be left with a government of 54 or fewer MKs. This would leave him no choice but to bring Labor into the government - contrary to a recent Likud Central Committee decision, and contingent upon the fractious Labor faction's consent - or to hold new elections.
MK Nissan Slomiansky (NRP) spoke with Arutz-7 today, and said that he does not see Sharon changing his mind on the referendum issue, "and therefore we will resign on Tuesday. I do think that if there is a sliver of a chance that he'll change his mind, it will only be next week. This is because it was clear that he would not agree to a referendum before last night, for two reasons: so as not to appear to be caving in to Netanyahu's threat, and so as not to risk Labor's support in the vote last night. But over the course of the next few days, Sharon said he would meet with us, so we'll see. Again, I don't have much hope, but the fact is that Sharon and Netanyahu have been working together on the budget, and efforts are being made in the Likud to find a way to get them to agree."
Asked how he sees the future after the NRP's resignation, Slomiansky said, "I think that his coalition will crumble. I think that the Likud will rebel against the attempt to bring in Labor, though I'm not sure to what extent. But even if he succeeds in bringing in Labor, I don't think it will last long; after all, how long can he run a country with a left-wing coalition, against the ideology of his own party? Sharon knows this as well, and he also knows that Labor won't support him one day longer than they have to in order to get rid of Yesha communities. So I think that new elections are on the horizon."
A-7: "You always said that the reason you could not quit was because if you did, Labor would immediately enter. What has changed now?"
Slomiansky: "Two things have changed. One is that Labor always said it would function as an opposition - such that we had an interest in keeping them out. But now it has said that it will help prop Sharon up even from the opposition. Therefore, our power to influence things is almost nil. Secondly, after checking with the Yesha Council and everyone else, we found that the only thing that could stop the disengagement would be a referendum, and so we decided to put all our weight behind this issue, and issued our ultimatum. Now that this has apparently failed, it looks like the end of the line."
Asked if the party's resignation would lead to peace between Eitam and Orlev, Slomiansky said he was not optimistic - "though I'm making great efforts to try and prevent a split."
Two of the party's six MKs - party leader and then-Minister Effie Eitam and Yitzchak Levy - quit the coalition five months ago, when the Cabinet approved the disengagement plan "in principle." Eitam, Levy, the Yesha Council and much of the religious-Zionist public tried thereafter to get the four remaining MKs to quit as well, explaining that this would be the best way to stop the disengagement snowball. Orlev, however, resisted all pressures, saying that the best way to prevent the expulsion was to fight from within. MK Yahalom often explained that previous "escapades" by the right-wing in toppling right-wing governments did not succeed, leading to the rise of left-wing governments instead.
Last week, however, a change occurred for the first time. Shortly before the Knesset vote ratifying the Cabinet decision nine days ago, Minister Orlev presented a letter of ultimatum, with the backing of leading rabbis and much of the Yesha Council. The ultimatum stated that if Prime Minister Sharon would give his consent to hold a referendum on the withdrawal plan, the NRP would remain in the government until the end of the term. If, however, within 14 days, Prime Minister Sharon would not agree to the idea, the party would quit.
Despite Minister Netanyahu's similar ultimatum, no change has been seen in Sharon's position, and the NRP is set to draw the appropriate conclusions. The final decision will be made on Monday.
It also appears likely that Netanyahu is intent on quitting, taking with him an unknown number of Likud MKs and much public support. Sharon would thus be left with a government of 54 or fewer MKs. This would leave him no choice but to bring Labor into the government - contrary to a recent Likud Central Committee decision, and contingent upon the fractious Labor faction's consent - or to hold new elections.
MK Nissan Slomiansky (NRP) spoke with Arutz-7 today, and said that he does not see Sharon changing his mind on the referendum issue, "and therefore we will resign on Tuesday. I do think that if there is a sliver of a chance that he'll change his mind, it will only be next week. This is because it was clear that he would not agree to a referendum before last night, for two reasons: so as not to appear to be caving in to Netanyahu's threat, and so as not to risk Labor's support in the vote last night. But over the course of the next few days, Sharon said he would meet with us, so we'll see. Again, I don't have much hope, but the fact is that Sharon and Netanyahu have been working together on the budget, and efforts are being made in the Likud to find a way to get them to agree."
Asked how he sees the future after the NRP's resignation, Slomiansky said, "I think that his coalition will crumble. I think that the Likud will rebel against the attempt to bring in Labor, though I'm not sure to what extent. But even if he succeeds in bringing in Labor, I don't think it will last long; after all, how long can he run a country with a left-wing coalition, against the ideology of his own party? Sharon knows this as well, and he also knows that Labor won't support him one day longer than they have to in order to get rid of Yesha communities. So I think that new elections are on the horizon."
A-7: "You always said that the reason you could not quit was because if you did, Labor would immediately enter. What has changed now?"
Slomiansky: "Two things have changed. One is that Labor always said it would function as an opposition - such that we had an interest in keeping them out. But now it has said that it will help prop Sharon up even from the opposition. Therefore, our power to influence things is almost nil. Secondly, after checking with the Yesha Council and everyone else, we found that the only thing that could stop the disengagement would be a referendum, and so we decided to put all our weight behind this issue, and issued our ultimatum. Now that this has apparently failed, it looks like the end of the line."
Asked if the party's resignation would lead to peace between Eitam and Orlev, Slomiansky said he was not optimistic - "though I'm making great efforts to try and prevent a split."