Lieberman's conditional support gives Netanyahu lead in PM race

The support from Lieberman's Israel Beitenu party means Netanyahu, a former premier popularly known as Bibi, can count on the support of 65 of the 120 members of parliament.Â

"We have two proposals. The first: we recommend Bibi Netanyahu, but (second) only as part of a wider government," AFP quoted Lieberman as telling President Shimon Peres who was meeting with parliamentary factions before deciding who will be tasked with forming a governing coalition.

"We are not talking of a government with a restricted majority. To govern the country, we need a government with the three largest parties, Likud, Kadima and Yisrael Beiteinu," said Lieberman, a Soviet immigrant whose party displaced Labor as the third largest parliamentary faction in last week’s elections.

"Those that want to join (the coalition) can do so later," Lieberman added.

Peres met with Likud and Foreign Minister Livni's governing Kadima party on Wednesday, and is due to hold talks with the other 10 factions on Thursday.

"Netanyahu will be prime minister, but it will be a Bibi-Livni government," said Lieberman. "Bibi must get used to the idea it will be a broad government," he told Peres.

Likud expressed its satisfaction over the endorsement, saying that they "welcome Lieberman's announcement".

 

"It is now completely clear that a majority of MKs will endorse Netanyahu to form a government," The Jerusalem Post quoted a Likud statement as saying. "And therefore Peres should entrust him with building a coalition," it added.

 

LIVNI: NO TO LIKUD-LED GOV'T

Reacting to Israel Beiteinu's endorsement during a tour of the South, Livni said Kadima would not join a government led by Likud.

 

"Politics are not only numbers, but a path," she said. "I will continue not only believing in our way, but also leading it, and I don't intend to become a fig-leaf for diplomatic paralysis. There is a path, and Israel should walk it," she was quoted as saying by The Jerusalem Post.

Kadima won 28 seats in the Feb. 10 election, just one more than Likud, but has far fewer potential coalition allies than its right-wing rival.

Both Kadima and Likud have been courting other factions in a bid to obtain the majority support needed to form a government coalition.

Right-wing parties made dramatic gains overall in the election, which was held in the wake of Israel’s deadly 22-day offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and was dominated by security concerns.

Under Israeli law, the task of forming a government does not automatically go to the party that garnered the most votes but to the one most likely to be able to form a majority coalition.

Peres was to announce his decision on Sunday or Monday, his spokeswoman Ayelet Frish said.