28/12/2009 Israel's centrist Kadima party headed by former foreign minister Tzipi Livni on Monday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer to join a broad-based coalition.
Kadima relayed that the decision was made by a majority of the lawmakers during a weekly meeting in the Knesset, and that Livni was in full agreement on the matter with Shaul Mofaz, her number two and a longtime rival.
"The prime minister's proposal as relayed to the Kadima chairman does not express an honest desire for such partnership," MP Yohana Plasner told reporters after Kadima's parliamentary faction unanimously rejected the offer.
"A unity government has many advantages, but a national unity should not be an empty expression, but a commitment for a real partnership with a joint vision and principles and an agreed way to materialize these principles."
Netanyahu met Livni twice in recent days after inviting her to join his government and form a coalition "to face the national and international challenges facing Israel today."
Kadima, the largest in the 120-member parliament with 28 MPs, has been rocked in recent days by earlier reports the premier pressed several of its MPs to break away and join his coalition.
Livni accused Netanyahu of applying "gutter politics," saying he had made his offer after "he failed to split Kadima despite his efforts to do so." Netanyahu's offer "cynically uses threats. We are not in war or in a peace process," Livni told reporters after the party vote in parliament.
"Today truth defeated the petty bartering that the Knesset saw last week by a man who is first of all the prime minister of Israel," she said. "We saw him, during a week in which the whole country was waiting with bated breath to find out the fate of a soldier, preoccupied with gutter politics. The cynical use of threats in order to appear to be calling for an emergency government - and bring in parts of Kadima - is not an act worthy of a prime minister."
For his part, Mofaz said during the meeting that Netanyahu's offer, as it appears today, is arrogant and unrealistic. "This arrogance is not a good quality for a leader; I tell Netanyahu today what I told Livni a few days ago: Arrogance is not a substitute for leadership," he added.
On Monday, Netanyahu said he would offer Kadima three cabinet posts should it agree to join the coalition, a day after proposing Livni bring in the party in exchange for two ministers without portfolio spots.
After meeting for 90 minutes on Sunday evening, Netanyahu and Livni were no closer to agreeing on whether Kadima would join the government, with each side blaming the other for the failure of the discussion.
Netanyahu said following the meeting that Livni was playing for time. Livni said she would consult her faction, but after phoning Kadima MKs on Sunday, she said she felt the meeting had been a political exercise.
Netanyahu made Livni an offer: two ministers without portfolio, for her and MK Shaul Mofaz, membership in the inner cabinet and for her, membership in the senior forum of ministers. Coalition agreements, to which Kadima would be obligated, would not change. Sources in Kadima said the faction was likely to reject the offer, which could spur a split in the party.
Netanyahu and his aides continued Sunday to try to persuade seven Kadima lawmakers to leave the faction, the legal minimum needed to split off.
Netanyahu stressed that he wanted an answer by this evening. If Livni insisted, the Israeli prime minister would sweeten the deal by adding another minister.
Netanyahu told his advisers after the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office that he had offered Livni a full partnership and agreed to her demand to be involved in the diplomatic process that he will lead. But he said he would not allow her to run a separate diplomatic track with the Palestinians, as she did during Ehud Olmert's premiership.
"Livni is trying to stall and find excuses not to join the government," Netanyahu said. "It seems to be a repeat of March, when she looked for any excuse not to join. If she wants to find excuses, she will, but if she wants to join, she should make the decision of a leader."
Livni reportedly told Netanyahu that his attempts to split her party did not bode well for his good intentions. "Such threats do not work on me, if you don't know it by now," Livni reportedly told Netanyahu.
When Livni asked to discuss diplomatic issues, Netanyahu refused and said his Bar-Ilan address was the outline of his diplomatic policy.
The Kadima faction may meet Monday and even vote on Netanyahu's offer. However, most of the members seem against it, other than those already holding talks with Netanyahu over a possible split from Kadima, including MKs Otniel Shneller and Ronit Tirosh.
Shneller may be the next MK to leave the faction, following MK Eli Aflalo last week. "Livni has to accept the prime minister's offer, and if the Kadima faction decides today to reject the offer and not to recognize the significance of this hour, there will be repercussions," Shneller said Sunday after the Livni-Netanyahu meet.
In an interview with Israel Radio, Kadima faction chairwoman Dalia Itzik called the prime minister's offer "rotten and deceptive."
Itzik said that just a few days ago Netanyahu offered seven portfolios to seven Kadima MKs, based on those seven defecting from the Kadima Party. But now, Itzik said, Netanyahu is offering just two to all 28 Kadima Knesset members.
Livni's associates accused her rival, MK Shaul Mofaz, of coordinating his recent attacks on her with Netanyahu. Mofaz has warned Livni that if she did not agree to initiate a leadership race in Kadima, the party would split and 14 MKs would leave with him.
In an interview with Yisrael Hayom, Mofaz accused Livni of repeatedly making strategic errors that harmed the country, especially when she failed to form a government in October 2008 that could have kept the Likud in the opposition with 12 mandates and when she turned down Netanyahu's offer to join the coalition in March.
"She only consults with her campaign team and media adviser," Mofaz said. "This doesn't display depth or partnership.
"Kadima is not a one-woman party. The current crisis is the result of lack of leadership. The era of conceit in Kadima is over. Arrogance cannot be a substitute for leadership."
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