Middle East

King-maker Lieberman says Netanyahu should lead

Article published on the 2009-02-19 Latest update 2009-02-19 15:23 TU

Avigdor Lieberman
(Photo: Reuters)

Mainstream right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to head the Israeli next government, after ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday told President Shimon Peres that he would back the Likud chief as Prime Minister. Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu holds the balance of power after coming third in the recent general election.

In a meeting with Peres, who must decide who should form the next government, Lieberman said that Netanyahu should be Prime Minister.

But he added that Livni's centrist Kadima must also be part of the coalition.

"To govern the country, we need a government with the three largest parties, Likud, Kadima and Yisrael Beitenu," Lieberman said.

Netanyahu has already indicated that he would prefer to work with Kadima than some of the religious parties who also won seats in the poll.

Kadima won one more seat than Likud, but has more trouble finding allies. It wants a power-sharing deal, where the two top parties would hold the premier's post for two years each.

"Livni must give up the idea of a rotation as such a solution would cause instability," was Lieberman's response to that idea.

Likud veteran Zalman Shoval predicts that Netanyahu will form a government within two weeks.

In a move widely viewed as targeting Arab Israelis, Lieberman has proposed that taking a loyalty oath should be a condition for holding nationality. But Shoval feels he would be an acceptable coalition partner and defends him against charges of being on the far right.

"If you really examine his positions, he’s not as extreme right-wing on these issues as some people make him out," he told RFI. "He has all sorts of ideas which are more to the left, really, than to the right."

Although Netanyahu is seen as hawkish on relations with the Palestinians and favours maintaining some Jewish settlements on the West Bank, Shoval says that he wants to talk to embattled Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

“We would like to see a Palestinian leadership which is not only basically moderate, which Mr Abu Mazen, Mr Fayyad are, but also have the capacity and the will to impose their decisions or to impose any compromises or agreements they will eventually make with Israel," he says, adding that a two-state solution "may be one solution".