Likud has enlisted the help of the National Religious Party (NRP) to try to persuade the Democratic Movement for Change (DMC) to join a Likud-led coalition government. The effort was begun by NRP leader Yosef Burg who met with DMC representatives yesterday and was followed up this morning by Burg’s colleagues Zevulun Hammer and Yehuda Ben Meir.
They are urging postponement of the DMC’s National Council meeting for at least two days to leave more time for a compromise to be worked out between Likud leader Menachem Begin and the DMC chief Prof. Yigael Yadin. The Council is due to convene tonight in Jerusalem and to meet all day tomorrow. It will make the final decision on whether or not to join the new government.
Likud has already made one concession with respect to ministerial posts. It announced that there will be only one Deputy Premier and that Yadin would fill that office and serve as Acting Premier in Begin’s absence, as, for example, when Begin goes to Washington next month to meet with President Carter. Originally, Likud had planned to designate both Yadin and Leon Dulzin of its Liberal Party wing, as Deputy Premiers. The DMC objected because under those circumstances, Yadin would not necessarily serve as Acting Premier. The matter was settled today when Dulzin withdrew his name from the list of candidates for Cabinet posts.
But Yadin apparently is not satisfied. He said Cabinet portfolios were only one issue keeping the DMC and Likud apart. He stressed that the crux of the matter was the manner in which Likud treated the DMC and its attitude toward DMC demands on political issues. Likud contends that it has already gone a long way towards meeting some of the DMC’s conditions. It complains that DMC people are focusing on areas where differences exist and ignoring those where agreements have been reached. The DMC does not accept this. Likud has in fact flatly rejected DMC demands with respect to territorial compromise and Jewish settlements in the administered territories. According to informed sources, those issues are the key points in DMC-Likud negotiations.
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