The New York Times: Netanyahu Forms an Israeli Government, With Minutes to Spare

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

By Jodi Rudoren, May 6th 2015, The New York Times

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel barely met the legal deadline to form a new government on Wednesday night and will start his fourth term with the slimmest of parliamentary majorities, made up of right-leaning and religious parties.

Mr. Netanyahu and his Likud Party celebrated a surprisingly strong victory in the March 17 elections after a divisive campaign, but ended up scrambling to scrape together 61 of Parliament’s 120 members into a coalition — and hold on to his premiership. He was forced to make major concessions to the more conservative Jewish Home party, and emerged weakened to lead a government that Israeli experts said was unlikely to last long or do much.

“Netanyahu simply miscalculated,” said Eytan Gilboa, a professor at Bar-Ilan University who specializes in politics and communications. “What you see here is a big political mess that, I think, shows Netanyahu has been too confident.” Of the new coalition, he added, “Nobody in his right mind believes that this will hold for even a short time.”

Mr. Netanyahu and the head of the Jewish Home, Naftali Bennett, appeared together at Israel’s Parliament building shortly before 11 p.m. to tell reporters they had sealed the deal. The two men, who have clashed frequently over politics, policy and personal matters, shook hands after two days of fierce negotiations.

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