While most view Yisrael Beitenu Party leader Avigdor Lieberman as right-wing, there are many who believe a strong Yisrael Beitenu Party will lend a hand to the centrist and even left-wing parties. For one thing, Lieberman may recommend to President Shimon Peres that he call on Tzipi Livni to form a coalition, not Binyamin Netanyahu. Labor officials also view Lieberman as a possible coalition partner although at least one senior party official, Ofir Pines, stated such a scenario is a non-starter. It was Pines who resigned from the cabinet after Yisrael Beitenu joined the government but party leader Ehud Barak last week announced he remains open to all options.
Kadima is particularly pleased since Yisrael Beitenu’s rise to 18 seats in the latest polls also translates to lost votes for Likud. In addition, Lieberman has indicated a willingness to remain in opposition if he cannot fulfill the party’s platform in a coalition agreement. Topping the list is the party’s demands for a law that will permit civil marriage.
In addition, the ongoing police investigation again Lieberman may disqualify him from a senior cabinet post.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
The big issue is whether Israel will be a Jewish state, or a western secular state that tolerates Jews. It’s an “us versus them”, and Lieberman is a “them”. Hostile goyim are a nuisance, vicious Jews are a threat.
Foreign affairs are largely irrelevant, since as long as most Arabs are demanding an evacuation of all settlements, including ones such as Tel Aviv, Netanya, Ashdod, etc., it doesn’t make any different who wins the Israeli election.