Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
met Monday evening with Shas
Chairman Eli Yishai in order to try and pursuade the religious party not to vote in favor of the Knesset dissolution bill this coming Wednesday.
Olmert met with Yishai to discuss Shas’ demand to enhance child welfare payments. Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On expressed his opposition to the increase in the stipends and for this reason the prime minister suggested an alternative to their demands in exchange for their support.
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Still, Yishai rejected Olmert’s proposal of registering the gains under Shas. Senior Kadima
officials said that Olmert presented Shas with generous offers amounting to NIS 1.5 billion (approximately $445 million) in compensation for their backing.
“The prime minister is willing to transfer a lot of money to Shas, but they insist on receiving child welfare stipends. The problem right now is not money, but rather where the money will go,” said a Kadima official.
If Olmert’s standing was better in the eyes of the public, it is quite possible that he would have consented to Shas’ request. “He can’t do this now; it will look bad,” he explained.
Despite the lack of progress, Kadima members believe that the negotiations with Shas will continue in the upcoming days.
Shas has become the scale-tipper affecting the government’s future, after the Labor faction voted with to back the Knesset dissolution bill. Moreover, Labor Chairman Ehud Barak hinted
during a party meeting that if Shas changed its mind, Labor
would have to reassess its moves.
Sources close to the prime minister estimated that the bill for the Knesset’s dissolution will be approved in a preliminary vote and that Labor ministers will be fired. However, there could also be a situation whereby Labor ministers opting not to vote in favor of the dissolution will maintain their seats.
Olmert also found support amongst 100 Kadima activists invited to his residence in Jerusalem on Monday.
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