Labor's pangs

Last night the Labor Party Central Committee met to discuss and vote on the agreement that had been reached in record time between Likud and Labor regarding the latter's joining the new Govt. Coalition. The Labor Party was split between those supporting it's leader Ehud Barak, who wants to join the Coalition so that he could retain his position as Defense Minister, and those who are against Labor joining a right-wing Coalition. It should be said that Labor's options were quite reduced due to the agreements already reached between Likud and the other parties already included in the Coalition, although Netanyahu was quite generous to Labor in order to entice them to join. He gave Labor four other Ministers (including Agriculture and Infrastructure) and he agreed to freeze Govt. worker's salaries and to ensure that any worker fired from his/her job would receive generous benefits and retraining programs. In addition, Netanyahu gave Barak a commitment that his Govt. would honor all past agreements, inclouding the Road Map and the Annapolis Agreement, in oewther words a "two-state solution."
In the event, the Labor Party voted by a slim majority of 58 to 42% to join the Likud Coalition. This is good news all around. It is good for Netanyahu and Likud, since they will not be seen as forming a purely right wing government, it is good for Barak, because he gets to remain Defense Minister and it is good for Labor because even though it split, now that the vote is in the losers will probably go along with the majority (although it might yet split), and it's good for Israel, because we need a Government as soon as possible and with the widest scope possible.
As of now Kadima is in the Opposition, but since Labor has now voted to join the Coalition, Kadima might feel left out, and might in time reverse Livni's decision and decide to join too. This remains to be seen, but hopefully we will soon have a new Government, that will not be hostage to a small right wing or religious party.