'Netanyahu Is Not Prepared to Compromise'

It still isn't clear who will be asked to form Israel's next government. But if Netanyahu gets the nod, German commentators fear the peace process will suffer.

Israel is set to announce the final tally from Tuesday's parliamentary vote on Thursday. But even before the official numbers are in, Likud party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu has started a major push to form a coalition government as quickly as possible, even though early results had him running (just barely) behind his rival, Tzipi Livni.

According to the Israeli paper Haaretz on Thursday, Netanyahu was planning to offer Avigdor Lieberman, from the ultra-nationalist Israel Beitenu party, the Finance Ministry in an effort to quickly bind him in a new government. The paper also reported that "Bibi," as Netanyahu is known to both friends and foes alike, will then invite his rivals from the Kadima party, chaired by Livni, to take on the foreign and defense portfolios.

It is unclear whether the gambit will work. Preliminary results show that Netanyahu's party won 27 seats in parliament, against 28 for Kadima. But because the right side of the political spectrum -- boosted by 15 seats won by Israel Beitenu -- trounced the left, overall, it appears difficult for Livni to form a stable coalition. Still, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, a member of Kadima, said the party would not join an extreme right-wing government under Netanyahu's leadership.

"We will join a Netanyahu government only if it is (not extreme)," he said, according to Haaretz. "We are not afraid to sit in the opposition."

There is still some time before President Shimon Peres has to decide who to ask to form a government. Results will become official next week. If Peres opts for Netanyahu, it will be the first time in Israel's history that the strongest party was passed over to lead a government.

Outside Israel, many are viewing developments with some concern. The hawkish tone from Likud and other parties on the right has raised fears that the Middle East peace process might stall under Netanyahu. Lieberman's participation in any Netanyahu-led government is particularly worrying for many. His platform has been profoundly anti-Arab -- in fact Lieberman proposed that all Arab Israelis should sign a loyalty oath to Israel as a Jewish state.

German commentators on Thursday also voiced their concerns.

The left-leaning Die Taggeszeitung writes:

"Israel has voted for the right and, in doing so, reacted to the radicalization of the Palestinians. Three years after the electoral victory of Hamas, Israel's left-leaning parties no longer have a chance at winning a majority. Every missile that was shot at Israel from the Gaza Strip strengthened the position of those Israeli politicians who aren't willing to compromise."

"Hamas aided Israel's right-leaning politicians in gaining power -- and now the right may even be able to secure a stabile, long-term coalition."

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"Even if Jerusalem ends up with a coalition that is prepared to work towards peace, the battle is still far from over. As long as Hamas' goal is the destruction of Israel, creating a two-state solution will remain nearly impossible, as a separate peace with Fatah cannot exist. It's also difficult to imagine progress in the Middle East unless Syria and Iran stop supporting Hamas and fueling the conflict."

"If US President Barack Obama wants his 'aggressive' peace initiative to have a chance, it won't be enough to sit around hoping that Israel's new government will work on a peace agreement. It also won't be enough to put pressure on Jerusalem if, in the end, hardliners there have all the say."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung focuses on the need for a new political system in Israel:

"Only with Ms. Livni is there a real chance (for peace) because the foreign minister campaigned on a platform of one day living peacefully next to a Palestinian state and returning the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for peace. Benjamin Netanyahu is not prepared to accept any of these compromises and would, at best, aid Palestinians in making economic progress."

"In order to undertake painful compromises with the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, Israel needs a stable governing majority.... Israel desperately needs to overhaul its political system because whoever wins power will have to commit a large portion of his or her time to building a shaky coalition and then keeping it together -- more time than for important issues that require full commitment. That means, not only finding a peaceful solution to the conflict with Palestinians, but also addressing the international financial crisis that is currently hitting Israel with full force and has already cost countless Israelis their jobs."

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Netanyahu's win has created a dilemma for Obama. The US president needs to make progress in the peace process in order to move toward reconciliation with the Arab world. Netanyahu will be an uncompromising ruler, and his promised toughness and politics of fear helped win a parliamentary majority for the right. He opposes peace talks like the ones Livni held with moderate Palestinians in the West Bank.... He doesn't want to discuss borders, refugees and Jerusalem with Palestinians but rather to stick with the politics of containment. At best, he could assist in creating industry parks."

"It would be courageous to aid Palestinians in creating a state, as the US government is currently doing on a small scale by training Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. It would furthermore be courageous to reform the Israeli election system. Twelve parties are represented in the new Knesset and they will, as always, be a hindrance to one another. The 2 percent rule hinders every step toward parliamentary progress. It also keeps courageous politicians like Livni from breaking the vicious cycle of Israel's internal politics."

-- Caroline Winter, 2:45 p.m. CET