'Coalition reflects the voters' desire.' Barkat
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Meir Porush
Photo: Dudi Vaknin
Jerusalem Mayor-elect Barkat forming haredi-free coalition
Secular, national-religious preliminary coalition to consist of 17 council members; ultra-Orthodox parties may join in at a later date, but without substantial benefits from Barkat
Jerusalem Mayor-elect Nir Barkat has formed a secular and national-religious preliminary coalition.
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"The coalition reflects the voters' desire for cooperation between the Zionist lists as a basis for a broader coalition later on," said Barkat, who is expected to officially take office in two weeks time.
The coalition, as it now stands, will consists of 17 of the 31 City Council members.
The ultra-Orthodox lists, which consist of 12 council members, are still negotiating their inclusion in the coalition, but Barkat is not expected to offer them a substantial amount of benefits to this end, and they will apparently have to make due with one deputy mayor and a few portfolios, including welfare, sanitation and ultra-Orthodox education.
Outgoing Deputy Mayor Eli Simchayof of Shas said his party wants to join the coalition and is conducting negotiations with Barkat, but the mayor-elect's main rival in the November 11 elections, Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism (UTJ), sounded a bit more pessimistic. "As long as UTJ does not know what (portfolios) it is getting, there is no telling whether it will be a part of the coalition," he said.
It is estimated that Porush will elect to stay on as a UTJ Knesset member over a position in city hall.
