While the chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi spent the weekend celebrating his victory in the last round of coalition negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained privately about Israel’s electoral system. According to him, it encourages extortion.
Less than two months have passed since Netanyahu celebrated his remarkable success in the March 17 elections, in which his Likud Party won 30 Knesset seats. At the end of the process of piecing together a government, and with a government supported by only 61 members, the narrowest possible majority, Netanyahu, indeed, finds himself in a situation where he is prone to extortion and pressure. His fourth government, which will soon be sworn in, is narrower and more vulnerable than any he has ever led. It is now clear to everyone that Netanyahu will be forced to devote a good part of his time to keeping his coalition intact. In other words, he will have to make sure that each and every one of its members feels satisfied at all times.
The Likud faction held a meeting May 10, just before the Knesset voted to increase the number of Cabinet ministers beyond the maximum of 18 previously allowed by law. At that meeting, Netanyahu approached each Likud Knesset member to offer his personal congratulations. He shook hands, patted shoulders and spent more time than usual chatting with them. New Knesset members reported that he had asked about their parents and children and even took time to look at photos. Considering the balance of power in the Knesset — the coalition with 61 seats versus the opposition with 59 — unlike during his previous terms, the prime minister cannot afford to skip many votes, because every one could be important or decisive. This means that he will have to spend many long hours in the Knesset plenum, as will the finance and defense ministers.
Netanyahu also expressed his displeasure with Israel’s current electoral system in recent conversations with Likud Party members who met with him about the allocation of portfolios in the new government. He simply extended his arms, as if to say, “What else could I do?” when explaining why he gave the most senior portfolios to his coalition partners and why he kept the Foreign Ministry for himself rather than giving it to one of them. He hopes that when the time comes, he will be able to use the prestigious foreign minister portfolio to expand his coalition.
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