Olmert to seek coalition with Labour Party
Acting Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert today announced that he’ll seek to form a coalition with the centre-left Labour Party, an alliance that would boost his plan to withdraw from much of the West Bank and draw Israel’s final borders by 2010.
The announcement came after a meeting between Olmert, head of the centrist Kadima Party, and Labour’s chief, Amir Peretz. The meeting signalled the end of a rift between Olmert and Peretz that began after last week’s national election.
Olmert said he had held talks with Peretz in the past two days.
With Peretz standing next to him during a news conference, Olmert said: “We are happy to announce that immediately after the president gives me the mission of putting together a government, we will open coalition talk that will allow us to form a government in which the Labour Party will be a senior member.”
In last week’s election, Kadima, emerged as the largest party in parliament with 29 out of 120 seats, followed by Labour with 19 seats.
Under Israel’s electoral system, the leader of the largest party is traditionally asked by Israel’s president to try to form a coalition government.
However, Labour initially recommended to the president that its leader, Peretz, be asked to form the government.
It was not clear whether this was an attempt by Labour to pressure Olmert in coalition talks.
Peretz, an ex-union boss, wants to become finance minister, a demand Olmert is loathe to meet.
Today’s joint news conference signalled an end to the rift.
Peretz, in turn, said he’d recommend to the president that Olmert be asked to form the coalition.
In their brief statements, neither Olmert nor Peretz discussed the distribution of Cabinet portfolios.
Labour has called for a quick resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.
However, it is also the party most likely to go along with Olmert’s “consolidation plan,” a dismantling of dozens of small Jewish settlements, the annexation of large settlement blocs and drawing a border in the West Bank.
