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Last update - 13:56 24/02/2009
Mofaz says Kadima should strive for unity government
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Netanyahu, Israel news 

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz on Tuesday refused to rule out the possibility of Kadima joining a Likud-led coalition, despite his party leader Tzipi Linvi's recent rejection of an offer to do so.

"I said during the Kadima [faction] meeting that running towards the opposition is not a sacred matter and that while we must make a supreme effort to form a unity government, we must do so without violating Kadima's basic principles," Mofaz told Army Radio.

The minister, who is placed No. 2 on Kadima's Knesset, has kept close watch over Livni's moves during recent days, convinced that her apparent partiality to joining the opposition is a mistake, but wary of being perceived as subversive.
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Over the weekend, Mofaz held talks with several Kadima members who have publicly voiced support for Livni's stance on joining the opposition. Mofaz said that in private, his fellow Kadima members sang a completely different tune.

Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, still hopes to form a unity government with Kadima, and is planning to offer its leader Tzipi Livni to help him draft the criteria that other parties must accept in joining the coalition.

In doing so, Netanyahu is signaling to Livni that he is willing to be flexible regarding his own policies, as well as obligations he has made to potential right-wing coalition allies.

Netanyahu and Livni are scheduled to meet for the second time Friday, but sources close to the Kadima leader expressed skepticism Monday over whether the meeting could bear fruit.

"We do not have high hopes," one said, adding that it is unlikely a party like Shas, which opposed the Annapolis summit between Israel and the Palestinians, is likely to support continuing peace talks.

Senior Likud members, for their part, said they believe Netanyahu will be forced to form a narrow right-wing government of 65 MKs, and will only at a later date try to enlist Kadima.

Livni: Netanyahu can't commit to advance 2-state solution

Livni said Monday that, "I won't change my mind on a central issue of principle. In our last meeting I understood that Netanyahu would be unable even to say the words 'Two states for two peoples,' so clearly he can't commit to advancing that goal."

Also Monday, Netanyahu met with Labor chair Ehud Barak. Barak said Labor was most likely heading for the opposition.

"Voters sent us to the opposition - that was their verdict and we respect it," he said. Netanyahu intends to meet with the Labor leader in order to convince him that "present needs and security challenges" obligate the sitting defense minister to keep his position in the next government.

Livni continued to highlight her party's policy differences versus Likud and its right-wing allies.

"Unity does not mean a bunch of people getting together for a meeting, but shared content ... When Bibi closed the deal with those same 65 [newly elected Knesset members] on the political periphery, what kind of unity is that? In such a government my ability to wield influence would be limited or nonexistent," she said.

Netanyahu, however, remained undeterred Monday. "The nation wants unity, that is what it needs now. An hour of emergency demands abandoning politics," he said. "There has never been such a moment of emergency, aside from perhaps the War of Independence, and that demands a different kind of leadership," he added, in apparent reference to the Iranian nuclear threat and other security-related issues.

Today Netanyahu will meet with one of his most prominent political rivals, Finance Minister Roni Bar-On of Kadima, for talks that sources close to both lawmakers described as economically-oriented. Netanyahu is expected to use the meeting to emphasize his belief that the national economic downturn has not yet hit bottom, another challenge demanding national unity.

Bar-On said Monday, "Suddenly when Livni rejects him, Netanyahu can't live without her. He's afraid to walk alone in the dark ... National unity can be expressed from the opposition as well."

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      1.   Mofaz "on sale" "at any price" 11:04  |  di 24/02/09
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