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Nearly two weeks since Israel held its legislative elections, the composition of its next government is still a difficult issue.On Friday, President Shimon Peres formally tasked Likud leader Bibi Netanyahu with forming the next Israeli governing coalition. By Monday, Netanyahu was reportedly “more somber than ever” about his chances to put together a broad-based coalition that would be more durable and that would give him more international legitimacy as Israel’s chief policymaker.Though Netanyahu has the support of a smaller, right-wing coalition of 65 Knesset members (out of 120), he clearly sees that as less desirable than a broad coalition. The rightist alternative, indeed, would be a coalition of the politically incorrect and the demonized.Take Netanyahu’s own Likud Party, with 27 MKs. Abroad, Likud is synonymous with “hard-line” policies and is regularly condemned as an obstacle to peace. Netanyahu himself remains an intensely demonized figure among the Israeli Left. And the Likud’s largest coalition partner is Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) with 15 MKs; Lieberman, because he raises legitimate questions about the loyalty of Israeli Arabs, is now portrayed as a Jörg Haider-like figure abroad and eclipses Netanyahu in demonization both internationally and for the Israeli Left.Then there are two small religious-nationalist parties, the National Union (4 MKs) and Jewish Home (3). Both of these, and particularly the National Union, are affiliated with the West Bank settlement movement—“West Bank settlers” currently being, of course, among the most negatively charged phrases in the English language.Rounding out the narrow right-wing coalition would be two ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas (11 MKs) and Torah Judaism (5). Traditional-looking, black-clad Jews, they too are no smash hit abroad; and with their penchant for emphasizing sectoral concerns, could prove difficult and obstreperous (especially Shas) coalition partners.Apart from three anti-Zionist Arab parties that are irrelevant for coalition purposes, that leaves three Jewish parties—centrist (the term is disputable and used for mapping purposes) Kadima with 28 MKs; Center-Left Labor with 13; and far-Left (and also irrelevant) Meretz with 3.Netanyahu, clearly acutely aware of the problems entailed by the right-wing coalition, met for coalition talks on Monday with Kadima leader and current foreign minister Tzipi Livni and Labor leader and current defense minister Ehud Barak. Though he made them generous offers of cabinet posts for themselves and their respective parties, a consensus of reports says that it failed to sway them.By P David Hornik
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