i government needs a 60 seats for a coalition.
Lieberman says he will join with the party that calls to DESTROY Hamas.
He has 15. Labor 13.
There are 26 other seats.
Gut feeling? The Nazi Avignor Lieberman holds the strongest card, any 60 seat coalition must include Lieberman, it would seem, and that the worst possible outcome. We will see.
As i do not know the make-up of the other 26 seats, i can't really say---but if that 26, 18 swing to the right, a coalition of the far Right will rule.
But if they split say 13/13 a coalition govermnent can not be formed.
It is tight to be sure.Max
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Final Count: Kadima 28, Likud 27
Narrow Gap Suggests Coalition Wrangling Could Take Awhile
Posted February 10, 2009
With 100% of the ballots counted, the ruling Kadima Party has retained the largest number of seats in Israel’s Knesset, with 28. Likud came in a close second with 27 (despite leading in virtually every poll in the past few weeks), and Yisrael Beiteinu finished third with 15. Labor and Shas rounded out the significant parties, with 13 and 11 respectively. The remaining 26 seats were split among seven parties across the political spectrum.
The quest is now on for Kadima and Likud to gain the support of the various parties to make the case that they should be given the first opportunity to form the government. Though Labor is perceived as a more likely partner in a left-center coalition with Kadima and Yisrael Beiteinu is considered a likely Likud partner, both have remained open to joining a coalition with either of the top two, and Labor has left open the possibility that they would simply become an opposition party.
In the end, President Shimon Peres is the most important person in the equation, as he is the one who gets to decide which party gets first crack at forming a coalition. If one party or the other can get a firm commitment from enough members it would be very difficult for Peres to ignore, but the reality is that many of the small parties will likely hold out looking for key ministerial positions. |
