Veteran coalition negotiators don't get riled up over every new coalition-building crisis. Every day brings its own crisis. Still, new elections are not in the offing. No candidate besides Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to form the next government. Negotiators are now tweaking the details, instigating substantially more scandal than these minutiae demand. The fundamentals of the next government have already been determined. Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid and Habayit Hayehudi head Naftali Bennett succeeded in paving the way for the gradual recruitment of the ultra-Orthodox and in politically sidelining Shas and United Torah Judaism. This is the reality that Lapid wanted. Bennett agreed to it, and Netanyahu acquiesced. Under these circumstances, it's important to remember the Talmudic maxim: "Overreach, and you've reached nothing." Since Lapid and Bennett shanghaied Netanyahu into the current coalition arrangement, they certainly don't want to burn their bridges. If they're headed toward joining the government, then they should settle the coalition-building tussles and make strides towards cooperation. Negotiators have offered Lapid the Finance Ministry, and he has refused. I propose offering the finance portfolio to a more senior economic figure who doesn't sit in any government faction. There are many candidates who would not question Lapid's prestige and position as Yesh Atid's formidable leader. The finance minister should be a beacon of integrity: Manuel Trajtenberg, Dalia Maor, Dan Meridor, Jacob Frankel, Stanley Fischer, and so on. Honestly, Lapid would have been met with open arms in foreign ministries worldwide had he replaced former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Still, Lapid shouldn't expect Netanyahu to rescind his agreement with Yisrael Beytenu, which effectively reserved the Foreign Ministry for Lieberman. Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on Wednesday also corroborated Netanyahu's right to save the spot for Lieberman. The Foreign Ministry is probably not Lapid's best choice, anyway. Because of his constituency, Lapid will probably have to accept a portfolio that he doesn't even want. What awaits Lapid in this scenario? First and foremost, he would remain Yesh Atid's undisputed leader. As for the other options: Lapid would have much to offer the public as either the interior or housing minister; he would be a deft interlocutor between the religious and secular communities; he would triumph managing the middle-class housing situation; he wouldn't lose any sleep as the deputy prime minister and as a member of the Forum of Nine top ministers. In practice, the government has guidelines, and we know fundamentally what to expect of it. That's the most important thing. Everything else is political strong-arming. An incoming text message roused Likud's principal coalition negotiator, attorney David Shimron, at 3:22 a.m. on Wednesday. The message said that since Likud was refusing Lapid's demand to cap the number of ministers in the next government at 18 (Likud wants 28), Yesh Atid was calling off the coalition talks. Both sides know that ultimately there will be around 24 ministers, with new legislation setting the future limit at 18. These tactics make much ado about nothing, and will no doubt last until the next government is formed.
