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Likud leaders oppose coalition with Labor

JERUSALEM, June 18 (UPI) -- Most members of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Knesset faction oppose a coalition with the dovish Labor Party, according to a survey published Friday.

Sharon heads a minority government, backed by 59 of the Knesset's 120 members.

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The survey, by The Jerusalem Post, showed 21 of the Likud's 40 Knesset members oppose co-opting Labor. Four members abstained.

If they persist, Sharon could count only on the votes of 15 Likud members, 15 of the centrist coalition Shinui Party, 15 to 19 Labor party members (some Labor legislators oppose joining a Sharon government), and possibly two independents.

That would be short of an absolute majority in the 120-member Knesset.

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, of the Likud, said his party would have to choose between forming a national unity government and early elections. There is no way to maintain the minority coalition of 59 Knesset members, Rivlin said.

However, Labor Chairman Shimon Peres doubted a national unity government would be formed. Sharon has no Likud mandate for such a coalition, he said.

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