Israeli election leaves future of government in question

Loory: Over 5 million Israelis voted (Feb. 10) in an attempt to pick a new government. It may be weeks before the decision is made, and the vote will be only part of that decision. First, the question is who will form the government? Will it be Tzipi Livni, the current foreign minister and leader of the center-left Kadima Party, or Benjamin Netanyahu, former prime minister and leader of the right-wing Likud Party? Kadima won one more seat in the Knesset, that’s the parliament, than Likud. But now, President Shimon Peres has to decide which party he will ask to try to form a government.  Then, that leader will have 42 days to put together a government, which will not be easy. As a result of the voting, Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the relatively new right-wing party Israel Beiteinu or Israel is Our Homeland, has become an important tiebreaker. He has controversial ideas that would be revolutionary for the Jewish state. Is there any way a government can be put together that the people of Israel will stand behind? And if so, will this government be able to handle the problem of forging a peace settlement with the Palestinian Arabs? The consensus seems to be that even though Netanyahu’s party did not win the most votes, he will be asked to form a government and will have to build the coalition. Is that really going to happen?