Now in week four, the final week of the presidential mandate to build a coalition, it appears Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will have to seek the 14-day extension in the hope of presenting his coalition to President Shimon Peres at a later date.

Elections Results:

Likud/Beitenu 31

Yesh Atid 19

Labor 15

Bayit Yehudi 12

Shas 11

Yahadut Hatorah 7

The Movement 6

Meretz 6

Arab Parties 11

Kadima 2

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, a seasoned politician, is up against a wall, having reached the realization the regular tactics and coalition promises do not appear to be working in this case and he is going to have to implement a new strategy if he hopes to build a coalition government.

The prime minister’s ideal coalition at this time would include Labor, Shas, Yahadut Hatorah and Kadima, for a majority of 72 seats.

Realizing this is not as likely as he would have hoped, he is now looking at alternatives. One possibility is after signing with Shas, Yahadut Hatorah, Kadima, and The Movement, he will succeed in breaking the coalition between Yesh Atid and Bayit Yehudi and bring the latter on board. Mr. Netanyahu feels that with the others on board, Bennett will be pressured into breaking away from Lapid or he will be perceived as having prevented the establishment of a right-wing government with a majority of 69.

And yet another option would leave the prime minister with a majority of 70. This would include the prime minister giving in and bringing both Lapid and Bennett into the coalition along with The Movement and Kadima, leaving the chareidim out.

And yet another possibility would be going to the polls again. In the event of a deadlock, this is a possibility since if Likud/Beitenu is unsuccessful; it is most unlikely that any of the smaller parties will succeed in assembling a coalition.

Radical as it sounds, some Likud/Beitenu officials are signaling that if Naftali Bennett does not agree to break his agreement with Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, he will not hesitate bringing the nation to elections again after informing President Shimon Peres that he is deadlocked.

If Mr. Netanyahu tells the president that he can bring The Movement, Shas, Kadima and Yahadut Hatorah on board, this leaves him with 57, and Bennett and Lapid refuse to enter into talks without the other, creating a deadlock. Other parties are less likely to succeed where Netanyahu failed, and this will compel general elections again, within three months.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)