After nearly two months of negotiations following general elections, Israel finally formed its new government on May 6. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party won 30 seats in Israel's 120-seat legislature, giving the party a comfortable lead over its opponents. More important, the margin gave Netanyahu flexibility to negotiate with potential coalition partners.
However, Netanyahu only just succeeded in building a new ruling coalition, formalizing agreements only a few hours before he was legally mandated to do so. And with only 61 of the legislature's 120 seats secured, this coalition will be both weak and unstable. The new government will also be more conservative than Netanyahu's previous government, making the reversal of earlier domestic reforms and conflict among member parties likely.
Netanyahu has signed a coalition agreement with United Torah Judaism, a party representing an ultra-Orthodox constituency. Another ultra-Orthodox party, Shas, joined the coalition as well. These two parties will push the government to be more conservative. But in addition to the conservative base, the government includes a mix of other political views. The religious, nationalist Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party of Naftali Bennet and the Kulanu, a new center-right party led by former Likud leader Moshe Kahlon, are also members of the coalition.
Although Netanyahu has negotiated with enough factions to secure a majority and to form a government, this new coalition will have to confront diverging interests that could undermine its coherence. With only a slim majority, the coalition will be bound by the interests of a very small number of members of the Knesset.
