Enough already. We have seen this before so many times. As the Bible (Ecclesiastes 1:9) tells us, "That which has been is that which shall be." Ideally, the government would have already been up and running by Thursday, or Friday, or Saturday night. Each party has its own just demands; no party is totally right. There is nothing wrong so says Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein with having the foreign affairs portfolio stay with Prime Minister Netanyahu so that the former occupant of the Foreign Ministry, MK Avigdor Lieberman, can be reappointed (if his trial outcome makes it legally possible). But why? Israel deserves a full-time foreign minister. Netanyahu's plate is full. By assuming the role of a stand-in who always awaits the return of the real office holder, Netanyahu would have to greet every foreign ambassador from every far-flung country. On the other hand, Netanyahu should keep his word to hold on to the job for now; Netanyahu promised, and Netanyahu should deliver on that promise. This is not the recommended course, but then again, it is not the end of the world. The same goes with the pledge he made to appoint Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni as the chief negotiator with the Palestinians and justice minister, even if he now thinks he could have hammered out a better deal. That deal made it impossible for Lapid to accept the foreign affairs portfolio. Lapid's personality makes him cut out for the job. But politically, he would be in a predicament. Lapid would have many reservations on the government's conduct vis-à-vis the U.S. and the Palestinians. Does he really want to serve as its emissary around the world and champion the ideology that the majority of the government subscribes to? With the coalition's makeup now becoming clear Likud-Yisrael Beytenu, Yesh Atid, Habayit Hayehudi, Hatnuah and Kadima there is nothing that could become a deal breaker. A 23- or 24-member cabinet would be a compromise. (Yesh Atid said it would insist on lowering the number of cabinet ministers to 18 as a means of cutting waste). Lapid can retain his stature as the second-most senior figure after Netanyahu even if he taps a professional from the private sector with unique credentials to head the finance ministry. There are a whole host of people who are qualified for the job of finance minister owing to their understanding of how the economy works and their deference to Lapid. The negotiations add more bad blood to the already tainted relations between the prospective coalition partners. This has prevented the 19th Knesset from doing its job and has caused the necessary preparations for President Barack Obama's visit, in two week's time, to ground to a halt. No matter what happens, the parties inside the coalition are going to face difficult choices in the final days of the coalition talks. Although in some parties the leader gets to decide everything, the Likud will experience problems when it decides who gets which portfolio. The number of Likud ministers will have to be cut; the Likud's cabinet members should get worthy positions, as some of the most coveted ministries are now at the hands of other coalition partners. Israeli politics have experienced heavy turbulence over the past year. This may be just the beginning. Not long after the government is sworn-in, several parties will undergo a process of soul searching. A few of them may see power struggles. Labor Party Chairwoman MK Shelly Yachimovich has a lengthy battle ahead of her if she wants keep her leadership from falling to the hands of challengers. Shas will undergo the same process. The triumvirate that currently calls the shots cannot hold on to power as if nothing has happened. Interior Minister Eli Yishai, Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Atias and MK Aryeh Deri will put out in the open all that has been swept under the rug during the election battles and the coalition talks. It is now pretty obvious that Deri did not help Shas' campaign. Perhaps if he decides to run for the Jerusalem mayorship he would make it easier for his friends, who are now forced to stay in the opposition and rehabilitate a party that needs to be shaken up. When a government forms, it usually marks the culmination of a political process. This time around, it marks its inception. Let's hope MK Amir Peretz (then Labor, now Hatnuah), MK Erel Margalit and former MK Raleb Majadale are innocent and did not buy votes during the Labor Party's primaries. The police are investigating this; only time will tell what really happened. This legal ordeal may be streamlined if they volunteer to undergo a polygraph test. Of course, only if they willingly consent. Yachimovich exposed the allegations; she is Peretz's archenemy, she is not an uninterested party, but she should not be condemned for taking this step. The important revelations in this battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness may have come from interested parties, but it is the truthfulness of those revelations, not the motives that guided the sources, that are ultimately going to decide the case. I am baffled by the criticism heaped on Yachimovich and the claim that she acted like a journalist (her former profession), not a politician. Perhaps. In such matters, it may be better to have politicians act as journalists. Once Yedioth Ahronoth's Tzvika Barot reported that there was a high-profile politician who might be implicated in voting irregularities, the public had the right to know who that person was. Yachimovich did the right thing by exposing that person's name.
