Israel Update

President Shimon Peres tapped Likud head and second-place finisher Binyamin Netanyahu to form a goverment Friday. Bibi has been making concerted efforts to form a broad 'unity government' with Kadima and Labor, though so far his overtures - including talking tough on Iran (a widely popular position in Israeli politics) - have been rebuffed. The problem is other foreign policy issues on which the right and left diverge, including peace talks with the Palestinians and Syrians. As Kadima chief Tzipi Livni explained, Bibi is "asking us to join a coalition that he would first establish with Shas, which demanded that I stop negotiating with the Palestinians, and with [Jewish Home] and National Union, and with Bibi himself, who meanwhile refuses to talk about a two-state solution." But Tzipi still walks a tightrope, as many in her party - even Knesset Speaker and Labor-defector Dalia Itzik - would rather be in coalition with a political rival, than lose influence sitting in opposition. Tzipi is very likely holding out for serious political concessions from Bibi, forcing him to take a more moderate stance on the Palestinian issue before a government is formed. Or, more cynically, she may be pushing him into a coalition with right-wing parties, which could collapse in short order, giving Kadima another shot in snap elections. Honestly, there is a good argument for either tactic.