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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak in the Knesset last year. (AP) Kadima, Labor deny merger report ahead of next election By Mazal Mualem Tags: Labor, Israel, Kadima, Likud Ministers in Kadima and in Labor have ruled out a merger of the two parties ahead of the next general election, dismissing recent reports about exploratory talks on the matter between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Labor Party Chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. According to the reports, the aim of the unification would be to block Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu from winning the election. Senior Kadima and Labor officials say that even if Olmert and Barak - who have personally dismissed the reports as false - are examining the possibility of a merger, neither one has the support of his respective party for such a move. According to a top Kadima official, "it's not at all certain Olmert will be the next chairman of Kadima, so to speak about a merger at this stage is just blowing hot air. It's nonsense and it has no basis in reality." People close to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is preparing to challenge Olmert for the Kadima leadership, made it clear that Livni is against a merger with Labor. They quote her as saying that Kadima has a clear path and that all the initial reasons for creating the party are still valid; if someone in Labor is interested in Kadima, then they should join Kadima, Livni's associates say. Advertisement Public Security Minister Avi Dichter has also expressed blanket opposition to the merger idea. He said Kadima is holding steady in the polls and that there's no point in even discussing unification. Similar views were expressed in the camp of Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, another candidate to head Kadima; his associates say he is against the merger idea. In Labor, high-ranking officials are not in favor of merging with Kadima. Members of Barak's camp dismissed the rumors about merger talks, while in Kadima, Olmert's people said the whole story is fictitious. "Maybe there are all sorts of self-appointed mediators, and it has nothing to do with us," one ventured. Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said Labor's voters, as the polls show, oppose a merger with Kadima. They view the Labor Party as a well-defined, deeply rooted institution and they don't want to water that down by merging with Kadima, he said. He also noted he had not witnessed any interest in such a measure during his meetings at party branch offices, but there is support for absorbing parts of Kadima into Labor. Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon, considered a Barak supporter, also opposed a merger. National Infrastructures Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer says he supports a merger, but only after the next election. Related articles: Poll: If elections held today, Olmert would be thrashed by his rivals Sources: Olmert rejects Labor talk of early elections Barak poll shows most Laborites content to stay in coalition Bookmark to del.icio.us   Meeting Carter Noam Shalit: The fact that Carter isn't pro-Israel may be beneficial. Family pressure Shin Bet admits using relatives to pressure jailed Palestinians.   1.   Both Labor and Likud are in trouble. 08:53  |  S 13/04/08

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