The coalition on Tuesday failed to garner a majority to replace the current chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, MK Yaakov Litzman of United Torah Judaism.

The bid to oust Litzman failed when the Pensioners Party refused to back the move, forcing the Knesset House Committee to remove from its Tuesday agenda a vote to replace Litzman.

The move prevents the coalition from completing a round of ministerial appointments, including naming MK Yisrael Beitenu Yitzhak Aharonovitch tourism minister and Labor MKs Yitzhak Herzog and Raleb Majadaleh as as welfare minister and science, culture and sports minister respectively.

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The coalition now faces a lengthy procedure before it can extract Litzman from his sensitive position: The Knesset House Committee needs to issue a recommendation to the Finance Committee to replace Litzman, forcing him to bring the matter to a vote before the panel of which he is still chairman.

Considering the current makeup of the committee, objections by several coalition MKs must be smoothed over, including MKs Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) and MK David Tal (Kadima). MK Orit Noked (Labor) has already declared she will abstain during the vote.

Litzman expressed his dissatisfaction with the move Tuesday, informing coalition chairman MK Avigdor Yitzhaki (Kadima) that he would not resign voluntarily. The committee chairman told Yitzhaki he intends to ensure that "no ultra-Orthodox vote for Kadima in the next elections."

Yitzhaki said over the weekend that, "I've asked Litzman to step down voluntarily and in a dignified manner, but he decided against it, thereby spurring the process of dismissal."