The question remains if Binyamin Netanyahu will remain loyal to the right-wing, the voters who gave him a majority in Knesset and the party leaders who recommended him for the presidential mandate last week.
In his first meeting with Kadima leader Tzipi Livni on Sunday in Jerusalem’s Inbal Hotel, the prime minister was extremely generous, offering Kadima senior cabinet posts, permitting the party to exert its influence on the next government. Livni however continued her hard-line response, basically indicating she and her colleagues are prepared to serve as the opposition, indicating Kadima will not join a right-wing government to serve to legitimize such an entity.
She explained that if the right-wing parties have veto power over Kadima and if Kadima has veto power over the right, then the government will not serve anyone. She explained that Netanyahu must ‘neutralize’ the right-wing to create an acceptable atmosphere for Kadima’s entry. Livni added the coalition would also have to remain loyal to other major Kadima platform issues include the two-state solution and a commitment to continue the ‘diplomatic process’ with the PA (Palestinian Authority).
While Livni continues to release statements that she is prepared for the opposition, unwilling to dilute or betray Kadima voters by entering a right-wing coalition, others in the party feel differently. The party’s second in command, Shaul Mofaz, thinks there is legitimacy to conducting serious coalition talks, stating that Kadima must make a move towards joining the coalition to prevent “right-wing extremists” from running the nation.
Prior to Livni meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, she was presented with a petition signed by 450 Kadima-affiliated activists and mayors, calling upon her to remain in opposition and not to cut a deal with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu called on Livni to join his coalition, explaining it is the will of the voters and the call of the hour.
The two did decide to meet again in the coming days.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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6 Responses
He is a talmid of Jabotinsky, as are Livni and Lieberman. That means he should be assumed to be anti-Torah, capitalistic and antagonistic to the welfare state, prefers as much of Eretz Yisrael as he can realistically get away with.
Unless coerced by parties on the religious right, don’t expect any sympathy to yeshiva students, to the poor, or to holding on to Arab areas, which given his non-religious definition of Judaism, isn’t surprising – if one wants an ethnically Jewish Israel, and one doesn’t favor genocide, the only way to get rid of the non-Jews is to gerrymander the borders to make them into citizens of some other country.
“That means he should be assumed to be anti-Torah, capitalistic and antagonistic to the welfare state”
I live in New York and I am “capitalistic” and “against a welfare state”! So I guess I am
two-thirds Jabotinsky-ist!
like any modern israeli pm he will be loyal only to himself
NO!
Netanyahu will be as loyal to the right as the USA lets him. When Netanyahu was quoted as saying he is concerned about the palestinians building an economy, that line is right out of the Obama playbook.
It seems no matter which party has the White House, America twists the arm of Israel and pleas for Pollard’s problem remain ignored and unanswered.
Who really runs Washington?
#4
Way too deep…