40 days and 40 nights

The cost of coalition politics is going up as Netanyahu starts his negotiations in earnest. With 40 days in which to establish a government, he seems trapped by his own success.  The right-wing bloc that he had so proudly flaunted, which includes the extreme right wing, is the last thing he wants for his coalition and the last thing this country needs.  The damage to Israel's standing, the potential damage to Israeli society, may be too much to bear.  Even Bibi knows that.  This is not what he imagined when he dreamed of his return to the prime minister's house.

It is quite possible that the tough stand that Tzipi Livni is taking toward Bibi's offer to join his government is simply a bargaining position. After all, he seems to be offering her almost equality in a nearly shared capacity with a lot of authority, a lot of power. And while there will be no rotation, no mistaking who the boss is, she can help save Israel from itself by balancing the coalition, raising a strong voice for moderation and the rule of law, guaranteeing that we don't veer from our democratic path.  In the meantime, she demurs.

Standing behind her support for a two-state solution, which has become more enthusiastic with each passing day, Livni calmly explains that joining forces with those who reject out of hand any exchange of Israeli land and the even more extreme parties who do not want the diplomatic process to continue at all, is not an option.  Her voters, she says, did not elect her to go willy nilly into any government.  They elected her to uphold the principles of Kadima.  All of this is inspiring if disingenuous.  The same Tzipi Livni who is ready to join forces with Lieberman, whose support of a two-state solution includes the transfer of Israel's Arab citizens, assuming they are willing to go, now draws lines in the sand.

But I am hoping that this is a reflection of the continuing evolution of Tzipi Livni, who has come to truly understand that the status quo is dangerous and the only real security for Israel lies in a two-state solution.  According to Ben Caspit in today's Maariv, she seems to be genuine, for now. In discussing the Netanyahu-Livni meeting last night, Caspit writes:

Netanyahu agreed to announce that he was in favor of continuing the peace process.  Livni demanded a more explicit statement and asked about his position on the principle of a solution based on "two states for two peoples."  Netanyahu hesitated.  Is this a hard and fast principle for you, he said, and Livni said yes.  Netanyahu asked whether she would consent to hear a different creative idea for wording the issue.  Livni did not object.  She later told Ma'ariv that no understandings had been reached and the sides did not move closer to each other.  She said, "There are two opposing paths here, and that's all right, and it makes sense, maybe that is how it should be in the country, and therefore I see no reason to join such a government.  These are great gaps, and two completely different worlds.  I see no way to bridge these gaps."

Neither do I.  As risky as an extreme right-wing government is for Israel, as isolated and hated among nations we will become and as stuck as the peace process will be - - all with possible irreversible damage - - I fear more the risk of avoiding clear options.  By Tzipi going hand-in-hand with Bibi and his anti-peace buddies, she will blur the lines that define what is necessary and critical for our survival as a Jewish and democratic state.  By pretending that we can dwell in some form of a Zionist bubble that inures us to the real world and lets us pretend that we can exist independent of other norms and expectations, we will unfairly drag our children into a more antagonistic and unsafe future.  No, I think Tzipi must head to the opposition, although I am not at all convinced she really will.  We still have 39 days left.