Lieberman en Livni streven naar 'seculier front' als tegenwicht tegen religieus blok

 

Livni en Netanjahoe lijken in een strijd verwikkeld om de gunst van Lieberman, en Livni heeft verklaard het op de meeste punten met hem eens te zijn. Hoewel Lieberman minder radikaal is dan hij vaak wordt neergezet, lijkt ze nu toch wel makkelijk over zijn sterk anti-Arabische retoriek heen te stappen. De loyaliteitsverklaring die de Arabieren in Israel van Lieberman moeten tekenen is slechts een voorbeeld daarvan. En 'Hamas vernietigen' klinkt mooi, maar de vraag is natuurlijk wel wat de prijs is en wat de internationale beperkingen zijn. Het zou anderzijds mooi zijn als wat meer tegenwicht tegen het machtige religieuze blok wordt gevormd, en bijvoorbeeld eindelijk een burgerlijk huwelijk wordt ingevoerd en mensen niet meer naar Cyprus hoeven om te trouwen.

 

RP

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Last update - 13:08 17/02/2009       
Lieberman, Livni mull 'civil front' to counter religious bloc
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1064786.html

 

 

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman and Kadima chief Tzipi Livni are working to form a "civil front" to counter the right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties which Likud has been wooing in the coalition talks.

 

Sources in Kadima and Likud say they don't expect Lieberman to recommend any candidate to President Shimon Peres on Thursday as Yisrael Beiteinu's choice to form a new government. Lieberman would instead try to force the formation of a national unity government consisting of Kadima, Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, without ultra-Orthodox Sephardi party Shas.

 

"Bibi doesn't have Lieberman," Vice Premier Haim Ramon told Haaretz on Monday, using the nickname of Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. "And the significance of this is that Netanyahu doesn't have 61 Knesset members who will recommend that he be asked by the president to form the next government. On civil matters, Lieberman is more of our [Kadima's] partner than Bibi's."

 

Kadima came in first in last week's general election, followed by Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu and Labor.

 

But Labor party chairman Ehud Barak reportedly said that Livni's dealings with Lieberman mean that Labor will not recommend to Peres that Livni form the next government.

 

Closer relations between Kadima and Yisrael Beiteinu were reflected Monday in a meeting between Ramon and Stas Misezhnikov, the head of Yisrael Beiteinu's negotiating team for the coalition talks. Ramon presented a document showing that Kadima had accepted all of Yisrael
Beiteinu's five demands except for the proposal on citizenship legislation.

 

In everything related to religion and state, the Kadima document is similar to Yisrael Beiteinu's position, including support for a civil-marriage law, a change in the system of government and a solution for the conversion issue.

 

At minimum Lieberman will try to show his electorate that he is promoting the so-called civil agenda he advocated during the election campaign, sources say.

 

Senior figures in Lieberman's party say their boss is interested in creating a situation in which Kadima will not enter the government without Yisrael Beiteinu.

 

Netanyahu associates, meanwhile, say there is no chance that Shas will be excluded from a Netanyahu government. They expect Netanyahu to lead the next coalition.