Cabinet Passes Lieberman’s Bill by Vote of 12-11, by Sheera Claire Frenkel (Jerusalem Post)
Caroline Glick’s words bear repeating;
“The greatest deficit of Israel’s governing system is not its instability, but its uneven checks and balances between the three arms of government. Second, Israel’s most urgent problem today is not its malfunctioning political system, but its incompetent political leadership.”
Full Text;
The cabinet approved on Sunday Israel Beitenu’s governmental reform bill by a vote of 12-11. Israel Beiteinu has demanded coalition support for the legislation as a condition for joining the government.
Gil Pensioners Party chairman Rafi Eitan voted in favor of Lieberman’s proposal, while Health Minister Yaakov Ben-Yizri abstained.
Labor Minister-without-Portfolio Eitan Cabel said earlier Sunday that if Lieberman’s bill were passed, the Labor party would have to consider whether to leave the coalition.
Over the weekend, the party moved closer to joining the coalition over the weekend, with chairman Avigdor Lieberman announcing that Israel Beitenu would make a decision by the end of the week.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he had a “great hope” that Israel Beiteinu would join the coalition by the end of the week. He did not say when he would meet with Lieberman.
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Saturday, “Keeping Labor the senior partner in the coalition is of the utmost concern.”
“The government’s current policies should not bend or yield to make Israel Beiteinu part of the government,” he added.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s efforts to add Meretz and United Torah Judaism to the coalition appear to have stalled. Meretz chairman Yossi Beilin said Saturday that there was an unbridgeable gap between his party and the government.
“All the talk of Meretz joining the coalition or joining Labor is being done in the newspapers,” said a Meretz Party spokeswoman. “We have not been approached. It has not been discussed with us.”