JERUSALEM Kadima and Labor party representatives on Monday afternoon, Oct. 13, initialed a coalition agreement in which Labor chair and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will be a senior partner in the government to be put together by Kadima chair and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
Kadima MK Tzahi Hanegbi and Labor representative Efi Oshaya signed the agreement, which came about after 17 hours of negotiations, just before the beginning of Sukkot.
Discussions will continue on a number of issues that remain unresolved. Livni and Barak were expected to sign a final version of the coalition agreement after the Sukkot holiday.
On Sunday night Hanegbi, the head of Kadimas negotiating team, engaged in late-night shuttle diplomacy for the second night in a row between Livnis home in Tel Avivs Ramat Hahayal neighborhood and Baraks penthouse in the citys Akirov Towers.
Barak approved most of a draft proposal submitted by Kadima to Labor on Sunday, according to which none of his demands at the beginning of the coalition negotiations three weeks ago will be met.
Barak will not receive nearly equal footing with Livni at the head of the government, he wont head Israels negotiating team with Syria, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann will keep his position, and the framework of the 2009 state budget wont be expanded.
Instead, Barak will be promoted from deputy prime minister to the new title of senior deputy prime minister.
He will be involved in the negotiations with Damascus and will be able to prevent issues from being raised in the security cabinet.
Labor will be able to prevent the advancement of Friedmanns judicial reforms and a limited sum will be allocated to two of Labors pet causes, raising senior citizens benefits and lowering university tuition.
The only changes to the Kadima proposal that Barak requested were in the clauses involving Friedmann.
