CRI听力:Netanyahu Forms Narrow Coalition at Last Moment

Just 2-hours before a final deadline to create a new government, Netanyahu managed to secure an agreement with the far-right Jewish Home Party, allowing him to secure the slimmest of majorities to form a coalition.

The new Israeli government will include Netanyahu's Likud party, former Likud member Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu Party, a pair of religious parties, as well as the Jewish Home.

Professor Abraham Diskin with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says the last-minute formation of a government in Israel isn't unheard of.

"Maybe (because of) the way that people negotiate, maybe (because) people try to get a little bit more. Both sides, both Likud and their partners try to push forward as much as they can, so they exploit all of the time, and it's quite a routine procedure in Israel. It's not something unique."

On Monday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, whose long-term relationship with Netanyahu has soured in recent months, dropped a bombshell by taking his far-right Yisrael Beitenu party out of the coalition talks.

While the new coalition only includes the bare minimum of 61 seats, Professor Gideon Rahat with Hebrew University says Netanyahu may try to expand his government's majority as time goes on.
"In Israel, the norm is to have wider coalition, and I think he might attempt to do it. He can also not do it actually, but use it as a threat to his partners. If you don't behave, if you are not good members of the coalition, I have my options."

Despite the new players in the coalition, Rahat says most don't expect many policy changes to take place.

"There is moderate element like Kahlon, the Jewish Home is smaller, and Lieberman's outside, so I don't think it's more right-wing than the previous one, it's more or less the same."

One of the outstanding questions remains how the new administration is going to address the Palestinian issue.

Abraham Diskin with Hebrew University says policy changes in that area aren't likely either.

"Once there is a move on the Palestinian front to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and once there is a will within the Zionist Camp, if there are the two conditions, there will be a change in the formation of the government, the Jewish home will leave, the Zionist Camp will join, and then we'll see if we can make a progress or not. Right now the two pre-conditions do not exist, so no one can make peace with the Palestinians."

Facing a possible defeat by the Zionist movement in the lead-up to the election in March, Benjamin Netanyahu publically stated he did not favor a two-state solution to the Palestinian question.

He later back-tracked from the statement after the election was over.

For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.