Netanyahu may keep defense, name Yair Shamir minister. Lapid - Dep PM + senior cabinet post
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 23, 2013, 10:15 PM (GMT+02:00)
Yair Lapid brings fresh faces to Israeli politics
Israel politics are in for a major shakeup. New faces will dominate the next cabinet under Binyamin Netanyahu, while 52 of the 19th Knesset members are new and more youthful faces.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is pondering keeping responsibility for defense while naming Yair Shamir (No. 2 in Likud’s partner Israeli Beitenu) minister for running the defense ministry,DEBKAfile discloses. This would upset outgoing Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon’s expectation of defense in the post-election Netanyahu government.
Since the results of Israel’s general election of Tuesday, Jan. 22, were out, Netanyahu (whose Likud-Beitenu garnered only 31 seats) has been locked in intensive negotiations with Yair Lapid, whose party came second with a stunning 19 seats, on the shape of the next government.
They have also discussed inviting retired defense minister Ehud Barak to stay on as a non-political expert.
Since the results of Israel’s general election of Tuesday, Jan. 22, were out, Netanyahu (whose Likud-Beitenu garnered only 31 seats) has been locked in intensive negotiations with Yair Lapid, whose party came second with a stunning 19 seats, on the shape of the next government.
They have also discussed inviting retired defense minister Ehud Barak to stay on as a non-political expert.
For now, DEBKAfile reports, Lapid who is in a position to pick and choose the cabinet post he wants, has turned down the post of finance minister for himself, while admitting to his friends that he wouldn’t say no to the foreign ministry.
Upon hearing this, ex-Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said cynically Wednesday that the finance ministry was right down Lapid’s street in view of the strong social and economic agenda to which he committed his Future party. His party might resent his abdication of those goals, Lieberman commented.
Wednesday night, Lapid himself put paid to a chorus led by Labor’s Shelley Yacimovitch for his Future to join the left-of-center and the Arab parties to block Netanyahu’s efforts to build a coalition government.
Upon hearing this, ex-Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said cynically Wednesday that the finance ministry was right down Lapid’s street in view of the strong social and economic agenda to which he committed his Future party. His party might resent his abdication of those goals, Lieberman commented.
Wednesday night, Lapid himself put paid to a chorus led by Labor’s Shelley Yacimovitch for his Future to join the left-of-center and the Arab parties to block Netanyahu’s efforts to build a coalition government.
Instead, he welcomed Binyamin Netanyahu as next prime minister. “I was glad to hear Netanyahu referring to all the things I have been aiming for,” he said to reporters. There will be no opposition bloc - certainly not with Hanan Zouabi,” said Lapid.
Netanyahu, speaking after the elections, spoke favorably of some of the objectives Lapid’s Future had set itself: Starting with averting the Iranian nuclear threat, he went on to speak of equalizing the burden between the secular and ultra-religious communities, bringing down prices, providing affordable housing and reforming the system of government.
Lapid refrained from answering when he was asked whether he would serve in the same cabinet as the ultra-religious Shas party (11 seats), which is a longstanding coalition partner of Likud and with which Netanyahu conducted separate negotiations Wednesday.This dual track opened up the possibility of establishing a government led by Netanyahu and Lapid in two stages: In the first, this duo would be joined by the pro-settlement Jewish Home and its head, the high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennett (11) and Kadima led by Shaul Mofaz, which Wednesday night was poised to scrape past the threshold with two seats. This setup would command a slim majority of 63, enough to get the 2013-2014 state budget passed by the new Knesset. This task defeated the outgoing government because some of its provisions were unacceptable to Shas and so triggered the early election.
Netanyahu, speaking after the elections, spoke favorably of some of the objectives Lapid’s Future had set itself: Starting with averting the Iranian nuclear threat, he went on to speak of equalizing the burden between the secular and ultra-religious communities, bringing down prices, providing affordable housing and reforming the system of government.
Lapid refrained from answering when he was asked whether he would serve in the same cabinet as the ultra-religious Shas party (11 seats), which is a longstanding coalition partner of Likud and with which Netanyahu conducted separate negotiations Wednesday.This dual track opened up the possibility of establishing a government led by Netanyahu and Lapid in two stages: In the first, this duo would be joined by the pro-settlement Jewish Home and its head, the high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennett (11) and Kadima led by Shaul Mofaz, which Wednesday night was poised to scrape past the threshold with two seats. This setup would command a slim majority of 63, enough to get the 2013-2014 state budget passed by the new Knesset. This task defeated the outgoing government because some of its provisions were unacceptable to Shas and so triggered the early election.
After that, Shas would be invited to join the government on the basis of the guidelines established in stage one, and expand its parliamentary majority to 75. With Torah Judaism (7) aboard too, the third Netanyahu government would command a comfortable 82
Bennet expects his Jewish Home party to win a twelfth seat when the army ballots are counted before official election results are released Thursday. He would be strongly in line for one of the economic portfolios in the new government, commerce and industry, for instance, or even finance.
Tzipi Livni, whose Hatenuah Party fell far short of her expectations and wound up with 6 seats, has been after Lapid to set up a joint front for the cabinet negotiations with Netanyahu. She anticipates his gaining the post of acting or vice prime minister plus a key cabinet post. She would then walk through the door to her former post as foreign minister, or so she hopes.
Bennet expects his Jewish Home party to win a twelfth seat when the army ballots are counted before official election results are released Thursday. He would be strongly in line for one of the economic portfolios in the new government, commerce and industry, for instance, or even finance.
Tzipi Livni, whose Hatenuah Party fell far short of her expectations and wound up with 6 seats, has been after Lapid to set up a joint front for the cabinet negotiations with Netanyahu. She anticipates his gaining the post of acting or vice prime minister plus a key cabinet post. She would then walk through the door to her former post as foreign minister, or so she hopes.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/01/22/a-tie-israel-election-deadlocked-with-center-left-and-far-right-splitting-vote/
A Tie: Israel Election Deadlocked With Center-Left and Far-Right Splitting Vote
No Obvious Path to 61 Seats for Either Bloc
by Jason Ditz, January 22, 2013
Expectations of a narrow victory continued well past the closure of polls in Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already delivered his victory speech. It seems to have been premature, however, for while his joint Likud-Beiteinu list has a plurality, the count from the Central Elections Committee showed a tie.
The assumption of a coalition of the far-right parties with the religious right, despite their open clashes during the campaign, no longer holds up as the 31 seats of Likud-Beiteinu, the 11 of Jewish Home and Shas, and the 7 seats of United Torah Judaism (UTJ) give that pair of blocs 60 seats… one short of the majority they need.
On the other side, the Yesh Atid Party netted 19 seats, Labor collected 15, and Tzipi Livni Party and Meretz each got 6, with Kadima getting two. That gives the center-left bloc 48 seats, actually more than the 42 that the far-right has without the religious right. 12 seats went to Arab parties, and a Center-Left-Arab coalition would also end up with 60 seats.
Both Netanyahu and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid are talking up grand coalitions inclusive of both sides as a possibility, but how difficult it would be for such a coalition could come together, and more importantly how easy it would be for it to fly apart, makes the post-election battle for governance of Israel likely to carry on for some time.
Netanyahu’s election letdown hinders stable government. Lapid wins big
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 22, 2013, 10:25 PM (GMT+02:00)
Israelis go to the polls Tuesday
The bloc Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud formed with Israeli Beitenu polled a disappointing 31 seats (in the 120-member Knesset) in Tuesday, Jan. 22, general election, according to exit polls broadcast ahead of final results early Thursday. The big winner of the election is a new face in Israeli politics, centrist ex-journalist Yair Lapid, who won 19 seats and pushed Shelly Yacimovich’s veteran Labor party down to third place with 17 seats. Jewish Home under its new leader, pro-settlement high-tech tycoon Naftali Bennett, ranked fourth with 12, followed by the ultra-religious Shas (11) and Tzipi Livni’s Hatenuah and far-left Meretz – with 7 seats apiece.
Given these results, the Yacimovich-Livni plan for a left-of-center majority to block Netanyah's path to a new coalition is unrealistic.
The same results seriously challenge Netanyahu’s chances of gathering a majority of 61 for forming a stable government coalition, the primary consideration for President Shimon Peres when assigning the task of prime minister to the leader who collects the most recommendations from fellow party leaders.
DEBKAfile: The paring down of the Likud-Beitenu bloc sharpens the horse-trading with potential coalition partiers, which starts Tuesday night straight after the exit polls and increases the chances of a deadlock. Netanyahu was heard during the day to suggest that a new election may be unavoidable.
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