Netanyahu pressures Kadima not to break up, leave his coalition
In move to preserve national unity government, prime minister offers concessions on universal draft bill
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday scrambled to prevent Wednesday’s publication of the Plesner committee’s findings on universal enlistment and keep his tenuous coalition together.
Netanyahu enlisted the assistance of his ousted former bureau chief Natan Eshel to convince MK Yohanan Plesner (Kadima) not to publish the committee’s report on drafting a universal conscription bill, Ynet reported.
Kadima head Shaul Mofaz said on Monday he would not meet with Netanyahu until after the findings were published, and hinted he would reconsider the party’s future in the coalition.
Eshel reportedly also spoke with a number of Kadima MKs on Tuesday to persuade them not to break away from the unity government, as several had vowed to do earlier in the day.
According to a Kadima MK involved in the talks, Eshel expressed willingness to accept some of the principles of the conclusions. Eshel and Netanyahu’s overriding concern, he said, was that Mofaz will go too far and expose the government to High Court petitions by publishing the report.
Kadima MKs are still reportedly planning on releasing the report at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Eshel, who was ousted from the Prime Minister’s Bureau following a harassment scandal involving a colleague, had earlier been revealed to have been a key part in putting the wide coalition together.
On Monday, Netanyahu announced the Kadima-led Plesner committee would be disbanded, sending his coalition into a tailspin. The universal draft legislation is needed to replace the expiring Tal Law, which had allowed for yeshiva students to be exempted from military or civilian service.