Israel’s new parliament that was sworn in on Monday featured a record number of women and a large percentage of first-timers. 48 of the 120 seats are held by newcomers; 13 by Arab and Druze citizens. The opening ceremonies were presided over by 89-year old President Shimon Peres. The Labor party’s Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, by virtue of being the oldest legislator, presided over the first session. The government is still in-formation with intense coalition negotiations underway. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is overseeing talks with all potential coalition partners amid extreme gamesmanship as party leaders jockey for position. Netanyahu has said his goal is to form the broadest possible unity government, a challenge becoming more daunting as the talks proceed and the demands pour out from the would-be partners. The prime minister’s speech was dissected by pundits seeking indications of subtle messages being sent to potential coalition members, such as references to the peace process and social-economic issues that rose in importance during the election campaign. Doing well in the election is not necessarily a prerequisite for party heads to obtain a senior cabinet position. Officials of Netanyahu’s Likud party are suggesting that ousted Kadima head Tzipi Livni, who returned to politics to win only 6 seats in parliament, might be given a cabinet position to head peace talks with the Palestinians while other rumors have Shaul Mofaz, the man who defeated her but who barely eked out enough votes to make it into the parliament at all, could become defense minister. Of course, all rumors must be seen in the context of negotiation strategy.
