by Joshua Lapide

With 99% of votes counted, Kadima leads with 28 seats; Likud has 27. The problem will be how to build alliances with other parties to form a ruling majority. The real winner seems to be the Yisrael Beitenu party of Avigdor Liebermann: the new government will depend on his decision.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Tzipi Livni of Kadima and Benjamin Netanyahu, of Likud have both declared victory in Israel’s national elections.  With almost 99% of votes counted, the centrist party Kadima has won 28 seats, the right wing Likud 27.  Both leaders have declared that they will lead the nation in a new government.  Final results will be announced in the next two days, when the votes of 175 soldiers are tallied.  But already it is clear that Livni and Netanyahu will need to enter into a coalition with other parties to form a majority government among the 120 members of the Knesset. Among likely partners the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party led by Avigdor Liebermann, which took 15 seats; the ultra-orthodox Shas party with 11 seats.  Problems will arrive from these possible alliances.

Livni has already proposed a unity government with Likud, but relations are tense with the far right group, given that her party’s commitment to dialogue with moderate Palestinians. Netanyahu has the possibility of forming a right wing coalition, together with Liebermann and Shas. Likud in fact seems to already have reached a deal Shas. A lot therefore depends on how much Liebermann’s party will want to form an ultra-nationalist but secular right. Analysts have declared his party the real winner in these elections, because the future government will depend on his decision.

• Israel
• election
• economy
• likud
• kadima
• lebermann
• livni
• netanyahu
• mahmoud
• abbas