OLMERT SHUFFLES THE KADIMA CARDS IN HIS CABINET

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000230

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS PINR ELECTIONS GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: OLMERT SHUFFLES THE KADIMA CARDS IN HIS CABINET

REF: A. TEL AVIV 214

B. 2005 TEL AVIV 6385


1. On January 18, Alternate PM Ehud Olmert's Cabinet
approved the appointment of three Kadima ministers to fill
the Foreign Affairs, Agriculture/Rural Development, Education
and Health portfolios in his transitional government vacated
following the January 15 resignation of four Likud ministers
(Silvan Shalom, Yisrael Katz, Limor Livnat, and Dany Naveh,
respectively - ref A). The Cabinet also redistributed the
Housing/Construction, Science/Technology, Communications,
National Infrastructure, and Environment portfolios vacated
following the Labor Party withdrawal from Sharon's coalition
government in November (Isaac Herzog, Matan Vilnai, Dalia
Itzik, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Shalom Simhon, respectively).
Pursuant to the Basic Law governing the function of
transitional governments and Knesset understandings, Olmert
made his picks from among the Knesset members of his Kadima
faction.


2. Kadima newcomers to ministerial posts include Sharon
loyalists Ronnie Bar-On (National Infrastructure,
Science/Technology),Ze'ev Boim (Housing/Construction,
Agriculture/Rural Development) and Jacob Edery (Negev and
Galilee Development, Health). Sharon had twice sought to
appoint Bar-On and Boim (who has served as a Deputy Minister
of Defense) to ministerial positions in 2005, but Likud
rebels balked and blocked the appointments (ref B).
Ultimately, Likud party failure to approve Sharon's
appointment proved to be the proximate cause for Sharon's
split from Likud and his formation of a new faction, Kadima.
All three MKs were among those who followed Sharon from Likud
to Kadima.


3. Olmert retains the Finance and Industry/Trade/Labor
portfolios that he held before filling in for PM Sharon, and
must manage the Interior and Social Welfare portfolios he has
temporarily assumed as Alternate PM. The presence of
Director-General Yossi Bachar insures the effective
day-to-day management of the Finance Ministry. The impact of
these appointments will be limited as Olmert's government
will only remain in power through parliamentary elections
scheduled for March 28, 2006. Even so, Olmert's decision to
name Sharon loyalists to prominent posts is a good indicator
of who will be in the upper echelons of the Kadima party list
that he must submit before February 8. The winners coming
out of this cabinet shuffle are clearly Tzipi Livni (already
Immigrant Absorption, Justice and now Foreign Affairs -
septel),Meir Sheetrit (already Transportation and now
Education),Gideon Ezra (already Internal Security and now
Environment) and Abraham Hirchson (already Tourism and now
Communications) -- all of whom acquired major new portfolios
in addition to their original posts.

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