Israeli Foreign Minister and Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni has “no intention of being in a unity government headed by” Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a note she passed to outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting.
Yet Kadima MP Avi Dichter does see a unity government as a possibility, so long as there is a rotating power-sharing deal. “A roation is the minimum that Kadima can demand so that a stable government sees the light of day.”
In the February 10 election, Kadima won 28 seats, while Likud won 27. The battle for a coalition government (which would need a minimum of 61 seats) has been complicated by the narrow margin and the number of parties at odds with one another. President Shimon Peres will be selecting which party will get the first opportunity to try to form a coalition, like by the end of the week.