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Friday February 2, 2007

Minister Ramon’s conviction forces reshuffling of Cabinet

by ronny sofer
ynetnews.com

The conviction this week of former Justice Minister Haim Ramon on sexual harassment charges has left Israel’s political system in a frenzy.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who expected Ramon to be found innocent, will now be forced to reorganize the government ministerial seats.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had been appointed to serve temporarily in the capacity of acting justice minister, during the trial. Olmert can let Livni complete her three months as acting minister and grant her a temporary extension of another three months. Such a decision requires faith that Ramon will win an appeal.

On the other hand, the prime minister can began a reorganization of ministerial portfolios and relieve Livni of the justice ministry, replacing her with a permanent minister. One possible replacement is Olmert’s trusted associate, Interior Minister Ronnie Bar-On.

Of course, if Olmert chooses to appoint Bar-On, he’ll have to find a new interior minister. It is then possible that the Labor party will demand the portfolio.

A senior official in Olmert’s office said the prime minister is unwilling to give the sensitive post to the Labor Party. Olmert prefers that the interior ministry remain in Kadima hands, because of its power over local authorities.

If he is able to keep the interior ministry in close reach, Olmert will need to appoint one of the existing Kadima ministers to the post, requiring further reorganization within the government.

In addition to the political musical chairs, there are also new appointments to be considered. Among them are the Welfare Ministry, which Olmert may give to the Labor party as per their request, and the post of chairman of the Knesset’s Finance Committee, which is weighed as a ministerial post.

It is also possible that certain posts will receive extra responsibilities.

At this time, according to aides to Olmert, the prime minister does not intend to fight with Defense Minister Amir Peretz over his post.

In convicting Ramon on Wednesday, Jan. 31, the three-judge panel said that Ramon had tried to distort the truth.

They found him guilty of forcibly kissing a female soldier at the prime minister’s office in mid-July. The court further asserted that Ramon’s version of the incident was not credible and added that the former minister also has attempted to humiliate the complainant.

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