The talks to form a coalition are underway and it appears that nothing new is on the horizon. Labour rejected an offer to join the government; they will stay in Opposition. Bibi is contemplating his options. There are efforts to form a Haredi bloc; Yesh Atid (There is a future) and Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) -- not the most obvious of partners -- are discussing a possible alliance. Apparently, Bibi has 100 days to form a coalition. I cannot imagine the backroom negotiations going on -- a serious chess game for politicians. I suppose if one feeds off that sort of thing, Israel is the place to practice politics. It doesn't get any better than this.
Meanwhile, the people have a bit of a hangover. Just wait a minute...who is this Yair Lapid (head of Yesh Atid)? He's a former tv anchorman (think a younger Peter Mansbridge) who is minimally educated, but attractive and charismatic. Just what is his centrist party's platform? And rega (wait), he's talking to Habayit Hayehudi? And, worse, just last night he announced on national television he doesn't know what portfolio to accept in the coalition (Bibi's people say Lapid can have whatever portfolio he wants - Finance, Foreign Affairs), but he is sure that one day he'll be prime minister. His political career started last year (Jan 2012) when he left journalism to found Yesh Atid.
Generally, it seems like younger leftist voters were more excited by the election results than older voters. Older voters knew they were seeing the same wine in a different bottle. The centre in Israel tends to be (re)occupied by (new) parties that don't have overly grand visions; they tend to get broad populist support. This is not surprising; gradual change tends to work well for folks who are doing reasonably well in life. (I cannot relate any stories from more right-leaning voters -- I don't know folks that vote that way well enough to learn more of their opinions.)
For people who see Israel in need of an acute policy overhaul (addressing economic inequalities, limiting state support of ultra-Orthodox and requiring them to be in service to the state (army, civil service), managing immigration, addressing Arab-Israeli issues, and finally, resolving the Palestinian issue) the centrist position is frustrating. It means little change can be expected. And, with life in Israel on the decline, not just economically (for many) and social tensions (inside and outside) on the incline, well, this is desperately frustrating.
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