Ehud Olmert was facing a revolt on Monday in the ranks of his Kadima party with senior figures furious at losing out on key portfolios to Labour rivals as the new Israeli coalition government is drawn.
Newspaper headlines made uncomfortable reading for the prime minister designate with a number of top Kadima candidates in last month’s election accusing him of reneging on agreements and caving in during coalition talks.
Uriel Reichman, who had been expected to be made education minister, announced late on Sunday that he was quitting political life after it became clear that the post would be one of seven in the new Cabinet allotted to Labour.
”There was an explicit commitment from Olmert and Arik Sharon,” said Reichman, who had been one of Kadima’s most high-profile recruits when the party was founded last November by the now coma-stricken Sharon. ”This isn’t a good sign of things to come.”
Reichman will now return to the academic world and resign from the Knesset even before making his maiden speech in the 120-seat Parliament.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz also made little effort to mask his anger at the prospect of losing his job to Labour leader Amir Peretz, cancelling the annual Independence Day reception which should take place at his ministry in Tel Aviv next week.
Invitations for 4 000 people had been already prepared, including ambassadors and families of soldiers killed on duty.
Mofaz, a former chief of staff, was quoted as telling Olmert that he was making ”a great mistake” by giving up control of the defence ministry to Labour and Peretz, who has no security background.
”It is a dramatic portfolio with significant impact on the state of Israel, particularly in the coming years,” he said.
But Mofaz, who is nonetheless expected to remain in the Cabinet, albeit with a different portfolio, later told a security conference that he ”was ready to carry out any public office he is given in the government”.
Former prime minister Shimon Peres, number two on the Kadima list of candidates, was also reported to have heavily criticised Olmert for giving too many jobs away in coalition negotiations with Labour and other smaller parties.
Kadima emerged as the largest party with 29 seats, 10 more than the runners-up Labour. It is expected, however, to occupy only 12 seats in an expanded Cabinet of about 27 ministers.
”If that’s the way Olmert conducts the negotiations with the Americans, the international community and the Palestinians, the convergence plan will be in danger,” Peres was quoted as saying by the Maariv daily.
Olmert has been determined to set up a broad-based coalition for his so-called convergence plan in which he intends to fix the final borders of the Jewish state.
The 29 seats that Kadima won fell some way short of pre-poll predictions, making it inevitable that some in the party would be disappointed. The size of the Cabinet and number of ministries allotted to Labour, however, has raised eyebrows.
”The atmosphere in Kadima is becoming more and more embittered,” said Maariv. ”The number of malcontents is not yet known because Olmert has not announced his final choice of ministers, but it is growing fast.”
Under Israeli law, Olmert has until May 4 to present a new government line-up for Parliamentary approval.
Olmert met Peretz on Monday in an effort to conclude the coalition deal between the two parties, agreeing that there will be no deputy ministers in the new government in an effort to reduce government expenditures.
Kadima spokesperson Shmulik Dahan told Agence France-Presse that the coalition agreement with Labour could be signed as early as Wednesday if Labour’s central committee on Monday approves the conditions of the agreement.
Olmert was also to meet representatives of the ultra-Orthodox Shas and the Pensioners’ Party, which should also be junior coalition partners. — AFP
