Peres’ ultimatum effectively delays any possible Likud-Labor coalition for at least a week as time ticks off for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to form a new government. No sooner had he arranged the coalition deal with the Likud Party, Peres found two obstacles on his step to effectively replacing Sharon when the prime minister is out of the country or otherwise cannot function.
Ehud Olmert of Likud serves as Deputy Prime Minister, and Sharon suggested Peres be given the title of “Deputy Prime Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office” as a way of getting around Olmert’s refusal to step down. Such a move would require a change in the basic government law that can pass only with approval by a majority of the Knesset, something that is far from certain. Furthermore, changing the basic law usually is not done without a thorough and lengthy examination that could take several weeks. Sharon would have a difficult time functioning for so long without a guaranteed majority.
Olmert said Sunday he refuses to step down because if “Heaven forbid something were to happen to Prime Minister Sharon and he cannot fulfill his position,” Likud would find itself with a Labor prime minister.
The unexpected crisis already guarantees that at least another week will go by without a coalition, also due to technicalities in the Labor party which has yet to agree on how and when to decide which MKs will receive the cabinet posts Sharon has offered the party in the proposed coalition. The Labor Party’s central committee was to meet Tuesday to set the process in motion, but Peres’ ultimatum delays the meeting for at least a week.
Further complicating Labor is the statement from its Arab members that they will boycott a party vote on which MKs will receive cabinet posts because none of the Arab MKs have been suggested for a post.
Sharon is running out of time on two fronts. His legal advisors have warned him that the Knesset must approve his so-called disengagement plan within the next five weeks if he wants to implement it on schedule. They are certain that legal petitions will delay execution of the plan, which they doubt the courts will uphold without advance notice of several months.
Secondly, the government automatically will fall if a budget is not approved by March 31. The coalition proposal costs the budget 600 million shekels, which Finance Minister Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu has said will come from across-the-board cuts in government offices. Further concessions, including those to the United Torah Judaism Party would further strap the budget, which so far does not include the estimated 4 billion shekels ($900 million) needed for transferring Jews and compensating them for forced evacuation from their communities.
Sharon is under pressure to present the Knesset with the disengagement plan, including details of compensation, in light of reports that the agency responsible for the evacuation cannot function without parliamentary approval of the program. Opposition also is growing from the small minority of families who are threatened with evacuation and had indicated willingness to “take the money and run.” Many have turned down the government’s financial offer as being too little.
Ehud Olmert of Likud serves as Deputy Prime Minister, and Sharon suggested Peres be given the title of “Deputy Prime Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office” as a way of getting around Olmert’s refusal to step down. Such a move would require a change in the basic government law that can pass only with approval by a majority of the Knesset, something that is far from certain. Furthermore, changing the basic law usually is not done without a thorough and lengthy examination that could take several weeks. Sharon would have a difficult time functioning for so long without a guaranteed majority.
Olmert said Sunday he refuses to step down because if “Heaven forbid something were to happen to Prime Minister Sharon and he cannot fulfill his position,” Likud would find itself with a Labor prime minister.
The unexpected crisis already guarantees that at least another week will go by without a coalition, also due to technicalities in the Labor party which has yet to agree on how and when to decide which MKs will receive the cabinet posts Sharon has offered the party in the proposed coalition. The Labor Party’s central committee was to meet Tuesday to set the process in motion, but Peres’ ultimatum delays the meeting for at least a week.
Further complicating Labor is the statement from its Arab members that they will boycott a party vote on which MKs will receive cabinet posts because none of the Arab MKs have been suggested for a post.
Sharon is running out of time on two fronts. His legal advisors have warned him that the Knesset must approve his so-called disengagement plan within the next five weeks if he wants to implement it on schedule. They are certain that legal petitions will delay execution of the plan, which they doubt the courts will uphold without advance notice of several months.
Secondly, the government automatically will fall if a budget is not approved by March 31. The coalition proposal costs the budget 600 million shekels, which Finance Minister Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu has said will come from across-the-board cuts in government offices. Further concessions, including those to the United Torah Judaism Party would further strap the budget, which so far does not include the estimated 4 billion shekels ($900 million) needed for transferring Jews and compensating them for forced evacuation from their communities.
Sharon is under pressure to present the Knesset with the disengagement plan, including details of compensation, in light of reports that the agency responsible for the evacuation cannot function without parliamentary approval of the program. Opposition also is growing from the small minority of families who are threatened with evacuation and had indicated willingness to “take the money and run.” Many have turned down the government’s financial offer as being too little.