OLMERT'S COS DISCUSSES COALITION NEGOTIATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001979

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IS GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: OLMERT'S COS DISCUSSES COALITION NEGOTIATIONS


Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones; Reasons: 1.4 (B and D).


1. (C) Summary: In a meeting with the Ambassador and DCM on
June 18, PM Olmert's chief of staff, Yoram Turbowicz,
confirmed ongoing talks with the ultra-orthodox United Torah
Judaism (UTJ) party to join the coalition. He said that such
a step would provide cover for the other main religious
party, Shas, to support convergence as well as allow Olmert
to consider bringing the left-leaning Meretz Party into the
government without offending orthodox Jewish voters. After
describing negotiations with Labor, Turbowicz proudly noted
that the new government is pledged to budgetary and fiscal
discipline and that this had been achieved at a relatively
low cost. He added that an agreement with UTJ would be a bit
of an exception to this rule. During the discussion,
Turbowicz outlined his experience studying and working in the
United States and provided other biographic information. The
Ambassador's points on PM Olmert's visit to Washington, the
Agreement on Movement and Access, the Magen David Adom, and
anti-trafficking efforts are reported septel. End summary.

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Ongoing Coalition Talks: Prospects, History, and Costs
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2. (C) In response to a question from the Ambassador,
Turbowicz said efforts to enlarge the coalition government
are "not completely finished." He predicted that UTJ will
join the government in the near future and receive the Social
Welfare ministry currently being held in reserve by PM
Olmert. He described such a step as "very important," saying
it would provide cover for Shas to support convergence as
well as allow Olmert to consider bringing Meretz into the
government -- at the minor expense of one ministry from
Kadima -- without offending orthodox Jewish voters. When
asked by the Ambassador about the Shas position on
convergence, Turbowicz claimed that the party has "no real
reservations, despite what was in the press." Shas had
agreed to join the coalition on the basis of Olmert's
election-night speech, he maintained. While Kadima had
fended off more far-reaching proposals from Labor, it had
also made clear to Shas that there will be "no fooling
around" with convergence (which Turbowicz calls the
"realignment plan").


3. (C) Turbowicz described his experience as Kadima's chief
negotiator in some detail. He said that PM Olmert's focus
had been on Labor from the beginning, but the PM had insisted
on keeping all options open, obtaining reluctant agreement
from Labor that they would still serve in the government if
Yisrael Beiteinu joined. Turbowicz expressed no regret that
Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman had remained in the
opposition, saying that "it would have been a difficult
cohabitation" with Labor. He noted that the Labor
negotiator, David Liba'i, is a personal friend, which allowed
for rapid completion of coalition talks. Turbowicz admitted
that Kadima had leaked news of parallel discussions with
other parties to increase the pressure on Labor. He
described negotiations with the Pensioner Party as
"relatively easy."


4. (C) Turbowicz expressed satisfaction that the cost of the
coalition had been -- in Israeli terms -- extremely low. He
lauded the new government's commitment to maintaining
budgetary and fiscal discipline, saying the lack of expensive
concessions during coalition talks resulted in "one of the
cheapest governments in recent history." He admitted that
the exception to this rule would be an agreement with UTJ,
which would require a more "generous" outlay of public
funding in comparison to the number of votes it will bring to
the coalition.

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Bio Notes
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5. (C) Turbowicz said that he had spent four years in the
United States (1986-90),first as a doctoral student at
Harvard on an ITT (later Fulbright) scholarship, and then at
a private law firm in New York City. His specialty was
international trade and contract law. He claimed that the
experience "really changed my life in a profound manner."
Turbowicz said that he had never really considered government
service until 1990, when the minister of trade pressed him to
become his legal adviser. Turbowicz accepted the position
under three conditions: the ministry had to air-condition his
office, start a legal library, and ship his law books from
New York to Jerusalem. In 1992 Turbowicz began what was
originally conceived as a temporary appointment to head the
GOI's small antitrust office. After a number of initial
successes, he stayed in the job for 5-6 years. He speaks
excellent English, but occasionally refers to Hebrew terms
when discussing technical political issues. Turbowica is
extremely affable with a well-developed sense of humor.

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