Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has moved one step forward toward making her own cabinet after Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday night promised cooperation of his Labor party, local media reported Monday.

Following Ehud Olmert's formal resignation from the premiership, President Shimon Peres is widely expected to task on Monday night Livni, the new leader of the ruling Kadima party, with forming a new government after consultations with all parliamentary factions.

In a move that could significantly increase her chances of success, the first woman leader of the centrist party, met late Sunday night with Barak, chairman of Kadima's main ruling coalition partner, and the two agreed to make serious efforts to form a new government, according to local daily The Jerusalem Post.

Relations between the would-be woman prime minister and the former prime minister strained when they engaged in a verbal fight as Livni was preparing for the Kadima primary, which she won with a slim margin last week.

Over the weekend, Barak once dimmed Livni's cabinet-making prospect when he met with opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu, with his aids reportedly saying that he intended to form an emergency government with the main opposition party Likud, or to bring about early general elections.

Despite the sporadic tension, Livni agreed with Barak on Sunday that it was in the interest of both of them and of the country that a coalition be formed as soon as possible.

"After all, Barak is someone who cares about the nation's welfare," she was quoted as saying before her meeting with Barak.

Full partner 

Although being the largest party in the parliament, Kadima has only 29 out of the 120 seats, and it thus has to rule in the form of a coalition government. The Labor party, the second largest with 19 seats, is apparently the best ruling partner.

If Barak agrees to join a government under Livni's leadership, he would be made "a full partner", local daily Ha'aretz quoted Livni as saying on Sunday in private conversations.

In an internal Kadima meeting prior to Sunday's cabinet meeting, Livni said that her country must establish a stable government quickly in order to meet the challenges. Hinting at least partly at Labor, she said that she expected the coalition partners "to act accordingly".

Barak's associates said he was looking forward to entering the government, because he believes that Livni would be dependent on his security expertise, especially following the departure of Transportation Minister and former military Chief of General StaffShaul Mofaz, Livni's main rival in the primary, reported The Jerusalem Post.

Meanwhile, the report added that Barak is expected to demand that Livni publicly pledges that any government she forms will last for at least a year and a half, and not just for a few months, amid fears that she might form a government and then immediately go to elections in order to take the advantage of a sitting prime minister.

Livni and her aides said they did not know whether Barak would agree to join a Livni-led government, but they did not think the Labor leader was in any hurry to hold new elections, according to the Ha'aretz report.

Recent polls showed that should snap elections be held, the Likud would emerge as the largest winner. Meanwhile, the main opposition party, which has ruled out the possibility to join a Livni administration, is trying to persuade other parties to support holding early general elections.

After receiving the presidential mandate, Livni will have at most 42 days to set up a new cabinet. Should she fail, Peres may assign the task to a second and even a third lawmaker. If all the cabinet-making efforts fail, early general elections will be held, possibly in spring.

Even if Israel has to hold snap elections, confident Livni said that she will lead Kadima to win.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22)