Likud's bed is too short and its blanket too narrow
"For the bed is too short for a man to stretch himself; and the covering too narrow when he gather himself up" (Isaiah 28:20). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a similar situation as of Sunday morning. A modern interpretation of the biblical verse may well have described his situation as follows: The blanket is too short to cover both the head and the legs. The Likud has an abundance of ministerial hopefuls and would-be deputy ministers; but supply is scarce, due to the election debacle.
Some may find fault with Netanyahu and the way he ran the campaign, which resulted in the Likud shedding a quarter of its strength. But with the vote tally turning out the way it did, could Netanyahu have found a satisfactory remedy one that would please his party? Any impartial observer would say no.
Having informed President Shimon Peres on the successful conclusion of the coalition talks on Saturday, Netanyahu must now assign ministerial portfolios according to three criteria: Does the person have the right qualifications for the job? Will the appointment bring a fresh face to the Likud ministerial line-up that can compete against those who brand themselves as the practitioners of "new politics" in the next election cycle? And finally, will those who dont make the cut undercut the prime minister from within his own party if they were shunned-
Squaring this circle seems almost impossible.
In the case of some cabinet picks, Netanyahu's decision is likely to generate zero problems. Outgoing Vice Prime Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon knows that he will be tapped to head the Defense Ministry and, true to his serious façade, has already begun the transition by reading briefs. He paid close attention to the how the campaign unfolded and how his party operated; he is likely to become a Central Committee glad-hander and build a base of supporters that would rally around him.
But his peers in the Likud are not as well-off politically. If Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom discovers that he has been demoted in the next government, he is likely to turn on Netanyahu and be his enemy from within, undoing the truce and even warming relations the two enjoyed over the past year; MK Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin, who served as speaker in the 18th Knesset, has already soured on Netanyahu; and even though outgoing Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar has taken his imminent departure from the ministry with stride, his transfer to the Interior Ministry has undoubtably left some scars. What about all those who are going to be denied an appointment?
On Sunday morning, the knives will come out of their sheaths in the ruling party. Netanyahu will try to calm the situation. Israel's foreign policy and economic challenges were all but ignored during the recent election campaign. That said, if Israel's 33rd government follows through on most of its promises, it will go a long way toward creating a shared cultural basis that all Israelis can relate to, including the ultra-Orthodox. The new situation would also allow for a more equal distribution of the national defense burden and, if the government manages to raise the election threshold parties would have to meet to enter the Knesset, the Israeli parliament would be much less fragmented.
If the coalition members focus on getting things done rather than on bickering and grumbling, they have a fair chance of getting high marks in the long run.
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