Following her last round of talks with incoming Prime Minister Ehud Barak before Shabbos, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni announced her decision is final and Kadima will not be entering the new coalition government.

Shaul Mofaz, who is number two on the Kadima list, over the weekend phoned faction members, seeking to persuade them to establish a Kadima coalition negotiating team to give talks a true chance. Livni soon learned of the phone calls and did the same, working to persuade party leaders that “we were elected to follow a specific platform and the forming government has a different agenda”.

Mofaz feels there is no harm permitting negotiators to seek to hammer out a solution while Livni is already resigned to moving to opposition.

Publicly, it appears that Kadima leaders are supporting Livni’s position but reports from inside the party paint a different picture, one of dissent and anger as veteran politicians question the wisdom of ruling out talks at this early stage. Despite their disagreement with Livni’s position, it does appear that when faction members meet on Tuesday Livni will enjoy a majority for her call to head to opposition.

Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who is working to assemble his coalition, places the blame on Livni, explaining he is willing to word a coalition agreement to address the two-state solution issue; he remains willing to advance the civil marriage issue; and feels that the differences between the parties can be ironed out and an agreement reached but Livni is unwilling to seriously enter into talks. Netanyahu points out that Livni has not even appointed a coalition negotiating committee. Netanyahu added “unity demands compromise”.

A number of senior Likud officials following a Shabbos of rocket attacks pointed out that addressing the rocket attacks into Israel demands a broad-based unity government, calling on Livni to take the step.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)