Netanyahu, Lapid seek compromise deal to enable Bayit Yehudi, Shas, Livni and Kadima to join government.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke to the heads of all the Zionist parties in the Knesset over the past two days and invited them to coalition talks on the formation of the widest possible government.
Netanyahu hopes to form a coalition of at least 80 MKs to ensure that none of the parties in the coalition could topple him by leaving, including the 19-MK Yesh Atid faction.
Netanyahu and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid are expected to compromise on which parties will be included in the coalition.
Lapid and Netanyahu agree on including Bayit Yehudi and Kadima, but differ on the rest of the coalition. Netanyahu wants Shas and United Torah Judaism while Lapid prefers The Tzipi Livni Party.
Netanyahu is expected to give in on Livni being included and UTJ excluded, while Lapid will most likely agree to the inclusion of Shas. Those compromises would lead to the formation of an 81-MK coalition of Likud Beytenu, Yesh Atid, Bayit Yehudi, Shas, Kadima, and The Tzipi Livni Party.
The prime minister’s preliminary talks with the parties are intended to preempt their meetings with President Shimon Peres next week.
Netanyahu wants to have a coalition in hand on paper before the parties make their recommendations to Peres on whom he should designate to form the next government.
Netanyahu will then send his lawyers to meet with party representatives and draw up coalition agreements, with a goal of completing the formation of his new government by the time he leaves for Washington in the first week of March.
Speaking at a special plenary dedicated to the Middle East at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Peres said he would be unable to provide headlines on the election.
“We welcome the elections in Israel. At the moment we cannot guess which way the new government will face and who will be in it. We must wait patiently until Wednesday when the official results will be published,” he said. “Afterwards, according to the law, I will consult with all the elected groups in the Knesset. Until then I won’t be able to comment further on the matter.”
In an effort to build the kind of partnership needed for a stable government, Netanyahu met Thursday at his official residence in Jerusalem with Lapid.
In the meeting, they made a point of discussing policy issues, not portfolios.
“The prime minister and Mr. Lapid discussed the challenges facing the nation and ways to deal with them,” the two men said in a joint statement. “The meeting, which lasted two-anda- half-hours, was held in a very good atmosphere, and it was agreed that they would meet again soon.”
While Netanyahu already called Lapid, Shas and UTJ leaders on the night of the election and Livni on Wednesday, he waited until Thursday to call Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett. Sources in Bayit Yehudi said they received an impression that the prime minister was trying to lower Bennett’s asking price for joining the coalition.
Mofaz told the prime minister that he had a rare opportunity to form a centrist government.
Netanyahu invited Labor and Meretz to meet with him, even though he knew they would not agree to enter his coalition.
“My faction will be a sharp and difficult opposition to you,” Labor Party chairwoman Yacimovich said she told Netanyahu. “He knows better than others how deep the chasm is between our parties on socioeconomic issues. I won’t contribute to the collapse of Israeli society [in exchange] for seats in the coalition.”
Netanyahu intends to form a smaller cabinet than in his last government, at Lapid’s request.
Netanyahu has told Likud ministers that they will not all return in his next government.
While Yesh Atid has refused to discuss portfolios, Netanyahu appears to want Lapid as his foreign minister, and not former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman.
One likely scenario is that Liberman would be told he could become finance minister if he overcomes his legal problems, which caused him to resign from the cabinet in December.
In radio interviews, Liberman tried to push Lapid to accept a socioeconomic portfolio such as Finance rather than seek the Foreign Ministry.
“Someone who spoke all the time about the middle class, socioeconomic problems and rising prices should not choose to deal with the middle class in Greece or Portugal,” Liberman said.
Also on Thursday, PLO Secretary- General Yasser Abed Rabbo said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas intends to invite MKs from centrist and left-wing parties to meet with him in Ramallah.
Ynet reported that the PA plans first and foremost to invite Lapid, but also lawmakers from Labor, Meretz and the Likud.
MKs from Bayit Yehudi will not be invited to meet with Abbas, the website reported.
“Like this it will take another half a year untill any of you controlled minds will understand how Israel and Judaism is being slaughtered.
“Same perpetrators ,same tactics,same lies,like before the Shoah.”
If you were referring to the Islam and the Muslims, I would agree with you. But to say Bibi (and I’m not fond of Bibi) is synonymous with the brownshirts is way over the top for me. Islam and Muslims, on the other hand, are certainly out to “slaughter” Israel and Judaism. No argument there.
And I don’t see Israel anywhere near perishing at the moment. I just read the story of Calev, and your statements remind me of those others of his group who gave disparaging reports, who said there were giants in the land and “we are as grasshoppers in their eyes” (or something to that effect). If anyone is going to perish, it’s going to be some of Israel’s enemies, the sooner the better.
“blueprint for global enslavement.”
Where have you been? I’m already living the dream. I live from pay-cheque to pay-cheque. My wife and I both work, and we’re both taxed to death. It’s always amusing to hear people like you use the term “global enslavement.” Yesterday I cut dead elm and soft maple off a frozen beaver pond for firewood. We could never afford oil. We have an oil furnace in the cellar that hasn’t been turned on in decades. There is already “global enslavement” right here in North America. Read “cost of living”. You sound like that idiot Max talking about the fascists or the other idiot Felix talking about the elites. It’s like the Irish joke my father used to tell about someone asking the Irishman what army he was in. The Irishman replied, “It doesn’t matter what the hell the army! You’re in the bloody army!” That’s the way it is for me and my kind. You and Felix and Max, I don’t know what kind of world you live in. It must be rather comfortable if you perceive some kind of global enslavement that’s worse than the one that already exists. Just be happy you’re not paying tax to a Caliphate right now, that’s the way I look at it. And if they want me to pay tax to a Caliphate, they can find me dug in in the bush up here (as well as million of other Canadians/Americans/Israelis). No one is going to cause the State of Israel to “perish” any time soon. What the hell are you talking about?
@ yamit82,
Israeli elections are insignificant ,right now.
A seat here ,a seat there.
There’s nothing to choose.
Bibi is trying to stop a government which is totally controlled by foreigners,that’s dangerous.
Events in the coming weeks will make the whole elections charade obsolete.
Watch,Endgame-blueprint for global enslavement.
Read current affairs on my “blast in Iran nuclear installation” comment.
Like this it will take another half a year untill any of you controlled minds will understand how Israel and Judaism is being slaughtered.
Same perpetrators ,same tactics,same lies,like before the Shoah.
Study more,lose your fear of the mirror and history,or perish.
@ Laura:
BB wants to rule unchallenged for a full term. The more parties the weaker any opposition and power to bring down his government early. He is willing to expend a lot of political and taxpayer capital for his own political safety.
There is going to be a lot of unhappy Likud-Baytaenu campers. I can hear the Likud Knives being sharpened as I type.
@ shachalnur:
In truth BB holds all the cards he has several choices in forming a coalition and No party ever refused joining a coalition because they didn’t get some choice ministry. BB could opt for a narrow coalition without Lapid.
BB wants to be in a position where no single party has the power to bring down his government that’s why he wants as broad a coalition as possible. Where Bayit Yehudi has only the Likud to join All the other parties except the Arab ones, will sit-in a coalition led by Lapid.
But then the math is against him because he won’t bring the Arab parties into a coalition, that would only give him 59 seats. Lapids power only exists because BB wants him in the coalition. BB could opt for Bennett, Shas, Agudah Mofas. 62 seats,
What just happened to your theory? Watch out for nasty Klingons, their favorite food is fruitcake.
Michael Devolin Said:
It’s a secret, 😀
I say it’s not the bankers but those who control the bankers,…The Romulans the Klingons? I bet on the Cardassians, they have the smarts and the intellectual skills to pull it off. If you see any Cardassian in your neighbor hood give a shout out CARDASSIAN!!!!!Cardassians are gray skinned humanoids. They are easily identified by their unusually wide necks and a spoon-shaped bone on their foreheads. Cardassians favor heat and aridity, conditions also found on Cardassia.
“Nethanyahu was obeying,that’s why he got so far,Sharon for example stopped obeying and had his heart medication changed.”
And Jack Ruby was involved in the JFK assassination, right? And the Rothschilds control Obama, right (you made this accusation in the Washington Post blog)? Again, show me some proofs. Show me when Sharon was “obeying” juxtaposed to when he was not “obeying.” You’re beginning to sound like C.R. accusing the “wicked Jews” of Israel of “turning away from god (his god)” and transmogrifying Christian plans for Israel. You’ve been living in Israel since the 80s and you saw this coming, right?
“Likud tried to get Romney into power…”
Again, show me an example. They may have wanted Romney “into power” but I think Likud had little to do with Romney’s election chances or his failed campaign. And everyone has the right to be involved in democratic elections. Jews included. Look how many here are involving themselves in Israel’s elections. And we were never asked. That in no measure proves we are “bankrolling” Israel’s politicians. There is money changing hands in every election, but this does not mean “the bankers” or “the elite” are actually an existing, functioning, all-powerful entity sitting at a round table. Has it ever occurred to you that there are rich and powerful types on all sides of the political spectrum, some opposed to each other as well as some aligned with each other? And they all have opinions and goals they want acknowledged and served. But to promote the idea that “the bankers” are even approaching a level of absolute control of any election is, I think, overtly asinine. Some statements presented here (and other pages) sound like excerpts from the pages of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Your posts sound like excerpts from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
comment5 in moderation,
@ just wondering,
Nethanyahu was obeying,that’s why he got so far,Sharon for example stopped obeying and had his heart medication changed.
Since June’12 things have changed,and Israel is aware their puppetmasters are throwing them under the bus.
Since Nethanyahu,and Lieberman,are not bankercontrolled anymore,they’re under attack.
Likud tried to get Romney into power,and failed,so now the rupture is more than visible.
I wouldn’t know if he’s banker-controlled. Not from the evidence I’ve seen here. I would just like to see some names is all. If one is going to make such broad accusations, one should also provide some proofs as well.
Why do you think that Bibi is not ‘banker-controlled’?
@ Michael Devolin,
Bauer,alias Rothschild,alias Shield of Edom.
Rockefeller
Warburg
These are the ones running the show since beginning 1800’s.
The rest are slaves,like the Dutch and British Royal Houses.
“Without a government Israel is vulnerable,and that’s the plan of the Bankers.”
Who are these “bankers” you so often refer to? Can you identify any by name? It would be exhilarating for me, I’m sure, to finally put a face to the appellation. And I don’t mean the names of the banks; I mean the names of the bankers.
Bennet didn’t get the seats neccesary to demand anything.
he wants Religious affairs.
Lapid is demanding the foreign ministry plus veto on defense nomination.
And he’s not joking.
Lapid is there to stop a viable Netanyahu led Government from being formed.
If he can’t stop it ,he’ll create a situation that requiers new elections soon.
None of the Banker controlled parties(Lapid,Bennet,Yachimovich,Livni,Mofaz,Stanley Fisher) will support Bibi.
It will take a long while untill there’s a functioning Israeli Government,and that’s the plan.
Without a government Israel is vulnerable,and that’s the plan of the Bankers.
Why would Bibi want to form a government with far leftists?
The PA wants to make an end run around the Israeli government. Its a cynical propaganda ploy.
What Israeli leftists will be doing is giving unwarranted credibility to a despotic regime that shows no signs of ending its war against Israel.
The Stupid Jews in Israel will play right into the enemy’s hands.