New Government Coalition in Israel? No Doubt, Bibi Had Been Waiting My Return, Nu?

I left Israel two weeks ago, the day after Elections, for a family visit to the states.  I had been certain that by the time I'd arrive back home, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would be finished with most of his coalition negotiations, but I was wrong.  This time, his third official attempt, is proving to be very difficult.  I have no doubt that one of the reasons is that the Knesset is full of newcomers to active politics, including party leaders like NRP-Bayit Yehudi's Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid's Yair Lapid.  They are both crucial to Netanyahu, if he will really succeed in crafting a government coalition.

Latma's satirical view of Lapid may have a lot more truth to it than most political pundits here would like to admit.



A couple of elections ago, we had the same sort of phenomena with the "Pensioners Party."  Do you remember them? 

Politics is a profession, one of the last that really requires active "internship" rather than theoretical study. 

Israel’s 48 new MK-elects made their first visit to the Knesset building on Sunday morning, where they underwent a “crash course” to learn the rules. The 48 took part in a crash course in Knesset etiquette and regulations.
This year's national elections broke several records, among them in the number of complete newcomers to the Knesset. 19 of the 48 newcomers are all from the newly-formed Yesh Atid, a party which prided itself on having a list that is made up entirely of new politicians.

Considering that almost half of the incoming MKs are new to the Knesset, I expect a lot of waste, chaos and anarchy, rather than the "good government" most campaigned to give Israel.

And davka, while Bibi struggles to finalize his coalition, United States President Barack Hussein Obama is planning on visiting Israel in the spring.

President Obama plans to travel to Israel this spring for the first time since taking office, as he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu try to move past the friction of the last four years now that both have won re-election.
By making Israel a stop on the first overseas trip of his second term, Mr. Obama hopes to demonstrate support for the Jewish state despite doubts among some of its backers. But the trip also seems designed to signal a new start in a fraught relationship rather than an ambitious effort to revive a stalled peace process.

"Spring" is pretty soon, and I just wonder if Bibi will pull it off or will the newly sworn in MKs quickly find themselves campaigning again and serving too little to get their cushy pensions...



Heads of party lists for 19th Knesset February 5, 2013 Photo: Knesset spokesperson