NETANYAHU’S RAZOR-THIN MAJORITY COALITION GOVERNMENT LIKELY TO BE SHORT-LIVED

Israel’s new government was formed at the last minute, is hard-nosed on national security and the peace process, but sharply divided on economic issues

In the Israeli elections six weeks ago, Benjamin Netanyahu scored a decisive victory despite the efforts of President Obama’s election team to defeat him. Netanyahu’s Likud party and other right-wing parties together with the center-right parties won 67 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. That should have made it easy for Netanyahu to form a coalition government. But not so fast.

In its attempt to be uber-democratic, Israel established a legislative government with a crazy patchwork of multiple political parties. In 2014, 12 parties held seats in the Knesset. A party needs to win at least 3.25 percent of the national vote to take a seat in the Knesset. That threshold used to be lower prior to 2014.

Because of bickering over ministerial appointments and narrow political concerns among right-wing party leaders, Netanyahu found it hard to put together a majority coalition. Netanyahu presented his new proposed government to President Reuven Rivlin with just 90 minutes to go before the deadline to do so. It has only a one-seat majority in the Knesset.

Netanyahu’s coalition consists of Likud, the centrist Kulanu, right-wing Jewish Home, and the two ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism. It is hard-nosed on national security and the peace process, but sharply divided on economic issues. Both Kulanu and Jewish Home detest the massive government payouts ultra-Orthodox Jews have been getting.

As it stands now, that coalition is likely to fall apart sooner or later and, unless the labor party decides to join in a unity government, Netanyahu’s government will be short-lived.

Prior to the elections, the Labor Party led by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah Party joined together to form the Zionist Union Party in an effort to defeat Netanyahu. Obama’s election team came to Israel to help run the Zionist Union campaign and it has been alleged that American tax dollars were used to fund Netanyahu’s opposition.

Reports are that Herzog is thinking about withdrawing Labor from Livni’s Hatnuah Party and joining Netanyahu’s coalition in order to form a unity government. If that does not happen and the present coalition falls apart, Netanyahu will have to call for another round of early elections. And then, much to Obama's joy, that may be the last we’ll see of Netanyahu as Israel’s Prime Minister.