Less than a day after Minister of Defense Ehud Barak bolted the Labor Party to set his new Independence faction, he has already signed a coalition agreement to give its members cabinet posts. Yesterday, the Labor Party ministers resigned in response to Barak's resignation as party chairman.
After all-night negotiations, the sides signed the coalition agreement this morning. Minister of Agriculture Shalom Simhon will replace Benjamin Ben-Eliezer at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, MK Orit Noked will take over Simhon's portfolio, and MK Matan Vilnai will become Minister of Emergency Services and Home Front Preparedness and will also replace Avishay Braverman as Minister of Minority Affairs. Simhon and Vilnai will also serve as observers in the political security cabinet.
Needless to say, Barak retains the defense portfolio.
It is unprecedented that a five-member Knesset faction has four cabinet portfolios, including a top post - defense. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will keep the social affairs, which became vacant with the resignation of Isaac Herzog. Independence's fifth MK, Einat Wilf, will be appointed chairwoman of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee later this year, when the position becomes vacant.
The future of the Labor Party is also up in the air. The party is waiting tensely for another quartet of MKs - Amir Peretz, Daniel Ben-Simon, Eitan Cabel, and Raleb Majadele - to decide whether to quit the party as well and set up their own faction. A decision is likely today.
It is still not clear who will replace Barak as chairman of the Labor Party. MK Ben-Eliezer is considered the leading candidate, but both MK Herzog and MK Braverman will likely challenge him for the post. Sources in the party believe that Barak's departure may open the door to previous party leaders seeking to return to politics and to try to rebuild the party.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 18, 2011
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