January 30, 2003

Lapid, Mitzna to meet

By Nina Gilbert

Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid and Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna are scheduled to meet on Thursday, as Mitzna continued to insist that Labor won't join a national-unity government headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Lapid convened his expanded Knesset faction of 15 for a celebration on Wednesday. The leadership did not discuss its conditions for joining a coalition and is still focusing its efforts on getting the Labor Party to join a coalition with it.

"It is very important for the Labor Party to join the government," Lapid said, adding that he is waiting for a phone call from Sharon to launch coalition talks.

Lapid said he would be willing to join a government with Shas and United Torah Judaism only in the event of war with Iraq, but made clear that he would "exit it after the last missile falls." At the same time, Shinui leaders did not rule out joining a government without Labor, as long as it does not include haredim and the far right.

Mitzna initiated the contact with Lapid, congratulated him on Shinui's "huge success," and asked to meet with him to discuss what to do in the "current situation."

President Moshe Katsav also called Lapid on Wednesday.

Lapid said Mitzna made a mistake in promising not to join a national-unity government under any circumstances, and instead should have set conditions for his participation.

However, MK Avraham Poraz said that Shinui is not a satellite of the Labor Party, and if it gets a serious offer from Sharon, it could not refuse to join a government.

Lapid also told Channel 1 that he would not rule out belonging to a coalition in which United Torah Judaism is a member, but does not sit in the cabinet. "This is a possibility," he said, adding that Shinui would not sit in a government with Shas, but the National Religious Party is acceptable.

MK Yossi Paritzky also predicted there would be more flexibility with UTJ, since he believes it would be more willing to agree to some of Shinui's coalition demands because of its "closed mentality." But he predicted that Shinui's leaders would not become ministers anytime soon. Instead, he said, he expects that Sharon will establish a government with the haredim and if there is progress in the peace process, the Labor Party would give him support.

Paritzky said he believes that Sharon wants Shinui in the government, but would be pressured by his party to make a coalition with Shas instead.

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