Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin, leader of the Democratic Movement (DM), has come under increasing pressure from a significant number of his colleagues to pull the party out of Premier Menachem Begin’s coalition government. Yadin has resisted such a move at this time but he was overruled when the DM Secretariate agreed to meet this Sunday to consider proposals to quit the government.
Yisrael Granit, chairman of the Secretariate, and several other party leaders, met with Yodin last night. They urged him to leave the Likud-led coalition “in the national interest.” They cited the government’s failing popularity with the electorate and its settlement policy on the West Bank which the DM has consistently opposed with little effect. Another factor is the economic crisis which has contributed to the unpopularity of the present government.
Yodin used the argument of “national interest” to try to persuade his colleagues to postpone a decision. He stressed that the country face very difficult times in the weeks and months ahead, at home and on the international diplomatic front. He said the DM should not be the factor which brings the government down thereby adding the impotency of a lame-duck caretaker regime to the action’s problems.
Under Israeli law, 100 days must elapse between the dissolution of the Knesset and new elections. In that period, the incumbent government continues to function as an interim administration. The secessionist minded DM leaders were not impressed by Yodin’s appeal and served notice that the Secretariate will discuss the issue on Sunday. Yadin Immediately summoned home the DM’s No. 2 man, Justice Minister Shmuel Tamir, who is presently visiting Canada.
Tamir shares Yadin’s desire to remain in the coalition for the time being and the two party leaders are expected to rally others of like mind to head off the secessionist move. Some observers believe that the anti-coalition forces may win a majority in the Secretariate but it is not certain that they can prevail if the matter is presented for a vote to the party’s much larger Central Committee, where Yadin and Tamir control a sizeable portion of the votes.
GUESSING WHO WILL BENEFIT
With the possibility of a DM defection looming, Likud and the opposition Labor Party are each claiming that they will benefit. According to Likud circles, at least two DM members, Tamir and Akiva Nof, will join Likud and bring others with them, in which case the government would preserve its Knesset majority.
The Labor Party organ Davar claimed today that two DM Knesset members, Zaidan Arshe and Shlomo Eliahu, have already put out feelers to join the Labor Party. The DM presently has seven Knesset, seats, less than half the 15 seats it won in the 1977 elections as the Democratic Movement for Change (DMC). The DMC split sometime ago, the defectors forming the opposition Shai faction.
Meanwhile, rumblings of discontent have been heard from Begin’s largest coalition partner, the National Religious Party. Its leader, Interior Minister Yosef Burg, spoke publicly last week about the prospect of early elections. But the NRP Knesset faction decided to defer further discussion. Like Yodin, the NRP does not want to take responsibility for bringing down the government.
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