Sharon delays vote on appointments
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decides to delay the vote on ministerial appointments of three Likud members by a week; earlier Likud members urged PM to pull proposal. MK: I said to him, 'Why are you in such a hurry to lose? I detected a willingness among (Likud) rebels to continue working together during Knesset session, so why miss the opportunity? Give it a chance
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided to delay the vote on the ministerial appointments of three Likud members by a week.
The vote was scheduled to take place Monday afternoon.
Sharon reached the decision following consultations with his advisors. However, he said, "a week from now I plan to submit the same proposal as one package.”
In the past few days Likud members have urged the prime minister to pull the initiative regarding the appointment of three Likud members to ministerial positions.
On Sunday MK Michael Eitan tried to convince Sharon to pull the proposal and reach a compromise with the Likud “rebels.”
“I pleaded with him to delay the vote,” Eitan told Ynet. “I said to him: ‘If you know you are going to lose, then lose next week – give me a week; I am certain I can bring about an agreement. Why are you in such a hurry to lose? I detected a willingness among the (Likud) rebels to continue working together during the Knesset session, so why miss the opportunity? Give it a chance.’”
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said Sharon does not plan to delay the vote, but Eitan said Sharon promised him he would consider the matter.
Labor waiting in the wings
MK Haim Katz, who until recently also belonged to the Likud “rebel” camp, launched a scathing attack on his fellow party members and offered his take on why some of them are planning to vote against the prime minister.
“They want to prevent the promotion of their fellow party members because they do not want to offer them the advantage of being ministers during the next elections,” he said.
“There are those who are driven by purely political motives; unfortunately, the ideological motives ended with the disengagement. The political aspirations of some (Likud) ‘rebels’ will lead us to a party split and early elections.”
“Rebel” MK Michael Ratzon told Ynet, “I want the prime minister to pull the proposal and sit with us so we may reach an agreement on our continued path together. I am not his rubber stamp; this is not a one-man party.”
Next Wednesday MK Yitzhak Levy (Renewed National Religious Zionism) is expected to submit a proposal for the Knesset’s dispersal, offering an apparent opportunity for the rebels to bring Sharon down. However, it seems that at his point they prefer to continue giving the PM a hard time without resorting to extreme measures.
Meanwhile, a senior Labor member said the party may also vote against the appointments in case there is a possibility Sharon would lose the vote.
“Why should we come out of this as suckers?” the Labor member said.
