Peres grants Livni two more weeks

Livni: Party heads must make decisions; Kadima negotiators want deal by 1st day of Knesset session.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Livni cool 248.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Livni cool 248.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
President Shimon Peres on Monday granted Kadima leader Tzipi Livni a two-week extension to put together a coalition government. During the meeting, Livni told the president that she was serious about the obligation bestowed upon her to form a government, and that she hopes to complete the task as soon as possible. "I believe that the responsibility that I took upon myself obligates me to try to put together a government... All the party leaders are obligated to make their decision, and I'm sure that it will be right one," she told Peres. "I hope that it will be fast, as the drawing out the process is not good for Israel," she added. Peres told Livni that such negotiations "require much effort," and implored her to "take this opportunity to exhaust the process to its fullest." Monday is the final day of the four weeks Peres granted Livni to form a government, and legally he is only allowed to give her two more. If by November 3, Livni doesn't succeed in forming a government or passing a bill in the Knesset setting a date for elections, they will be held on January 27, the final Tuesday within 90 days. Livni's negotiators expressed optimism that they would be able to reach a deal not only by the final deadline, but by the unofficial deadline that they set for themselves: the first day of the Knesset's winter session next Monday. But they admitted that reaching a deal with Shas and other potential coalition partners by that date would be extremely difficult. "Reaching a deal by the time the Knesset comes back is a good goal," Kadima negotiator Yisrael Maimon said. "We are not done yet because there are still large gaps and there have been many holidays and Sabbaths that have prevented the talks from progressing and gaining momentum. "But I don't think we will ultimately need both weeks, nor do we want the negotiations to go down to the wire." One problem that has arisen due to the holidays is that some government offices are closed during Hol Hamoed Succot. During talks between Kadima and Shas officials on Sunday evening, the negotiators realized that they needed key information from the National Insurance Institute, which will not reopen until Wednesday. The negotiators discussed a new format for child welfare allotments that could satisfy Shas and United Torah Judaism whereby the allotments would be given only families with at least four children and under-average household incomes. The negotiators did not agree yet on how much to give each family, due in part to their lack of information about how many such families there are. "There is no progress and the gaps are still wide," Shas chairman Eli Yishai told reporters at Beit Hanassi on Sunday prior to the coalition talks later in the day. "We have clear principles: that the government must become more socioeconomic, and on diplomatic issues that Jerusalem is not for sale." Shas officials said that one of the reasons the child welfare allotments were so important was that due to the international economic crisis, contributions to Sephardi kollels and yeshivot had dried up. This made the party and its constituents more reliant on government support. Kadima officials are expected to meet again later in the week with UTJ and Meretz representatives. United Arab List MK Taleb a-Sanaa wrote Livni a letter, saying that he was disappointed that she had not opened coalition talks with any Arab Party. "When co-existence and Jewish-Arab relations are facing a difficult test, the leadership must send a message of equality, and ruling out a party in advance just because of nationality presents a negative message," Sanaa wrote. "In the United States, Barack Obama is running for president - here, our prime minister-designate doesn't even have the courage to invite us for negotiations, even though we present 20 percent of the population."