Throughout the election campaign, Bayit Yehudi party leader Naftali Bennett warned right-wing voters they must vote for his party for only a strong Bayit Yehudi will ensure the next coalition is right-wing. Bennett’s efforts failed, miserably as he not only gained seats, but failed to maintain his 12 seats, now entering the 20th Knesset with only 8 seats.
The Maariv website on Sunday morning 2 Nissan reports that person in the Labor/The Movement party are confirming that Netanyahu’s close confidant, Eitan Eshel, was already in touch with party leaders as an initial probe towards determining if bringing Labor into a broad-based coalition is a possibility.
Channel 10 News adds the source reports Eshel wished to determine if Labor party leader Yitzchak Herzog would entertain entering a coalition headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Herzog reportedly stated there isn’t chance of such an occurrence as he is preparing to head the opposition.
There are also reports on Sunday morning that Tzipi Livni and her colleagues from The Movement party are thinking of bailing from Labor to enter the coalition. Livni served as justice minister in the outgoing administration.
It should be pointed out that Netanyahu was adamant, assuring right-wing voters that he would not attempt to establish a coalition that includes the Labor party.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
7 Responses
If Bayit Yehudi, Yisrael Beiteinu and the two Hareidi parties continue to act as if they won a grat victory, when in fact they lost seats relative to Likud, and substantially so, Likud will find renewed interest in working with Herzog and Livni. The early polls suggest the two largest parties would have not much more than 40 seats between them, but as it is, they have close to 60, meaning they would need very little additional support to form a government and “stiff” all their greedy allies.
Of course, once that is threatened, the Harieidi will be less interested in patronage and quite content with a promise not to have their supporters locked up for draft refusal, and Lieberman and Bennett will discover humility at their rejection by the voters, and be content to leave the “good” portfolios (Defense, Foreign Affariirs, Finance and Justice) to the “big” parties.
My opinion? N. is great at forming coalitions that can’t govern. If he’s a good politician he should be able to form a right wing govt without conceding the senior portfolios. Let him bluff the little parties into agreeing with him, or else…
Why would Natanyahu WANT to form a coalition with the leftists?
Why would Natanyahu WANT to form a coalition with the leftists?
Unless that’s what Barack Hussein Omamzer is telling him to do. Hmmmmmmmm
Not gonna happen….
Akuperma right on target.
As long as the Palestinians aren’t interested in a two-state solution (meaning, they aren’t willing to give up their claims on the rest of Israel), Netanyahu doesn’t have an problem with Herzog on foreign affairs.
You will know that the Arabs (probably as a group) have decided on peace with Israel when they agree to recognize Israeli sovereignity over the 1949-1967 borders, discuss allowing some settlements to remain (in return for a bribe and guarantees of the rights of Palestinians within Israel), and offer to using claims of Jews against Arabs states to pay for reparations to Palestinians for property they left when the fled Israel (the way it typically would work is Israel would be in charge of paying the Jewish refugees from Arab countries and the Arab League would pay the Palestinians). BUT THAT ISN’T HAPPENING.