Coup d’Bibi

The Israeli press has recovered from yesterday’s surprise announcement of a unity government deal between Likud and Kadima and responds with pages and pages of opinion and analysis, with a bit of news mixed in.

And the winner is…

All the papers characterize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and newly elected Kadima chief Shaul Mofaz as the winners of this deal. Former Netanyahu staffer Yoaz Handel in Yedioth Ahronoth praises the move, saying, “Bibi is a man of vision and now he’ll have the chance to implement it.” In Israel Hayom, Yulia Shamalov-Berkovich also has high hopes for the newly formed unity government, “I hope that this unity government, the first in many years, will also bring unity to the Jewish people.”

Not all share this enthusiasm, however. Maariv begins its coverage with a graphic of a survey it conducted that shows Kadima receiving only 10 seats if elections were held in September, down from its current 28 seats. In the lead article, “Between apathy and despair,” Maariv reveals the results of its survey conducted in the wake of yesterday’s announcement.

“A historic step? The public doesn’t buy it,” the article asserts. Surrounding the text are graphics displaying survey results, which reveal that the public regards the politicians’ intentions dubiously.

Haaretz leads off its coverage with a similar survey, revealing roughly the same results. The main finding of the Haaretz survey is that 63% of the public believes that Shaul Mofaz acted out of political expediency and not for the good of the country.

Yedioth Ahronoth takes a similar tone to the surveys with an op-ed piece on Page 4 by Sima Kedmon titled “Survivor V.I.P.” Like in the popular reality show, Kedmon tries to go inside of the minds of the players, trying to find out what they think about this deal. She portrays Mofaz as a puppet and Netanyahu as the puppet master, who plays with Mofaz and his 28 Knesset seats, ensuring his political safety.

The losers

All the papers agree on one main loser — Yair Lapid. Israel Hayom reports that Lapid, who was in Atlanta for the Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement, was disappointed but wrote to his supporters that “today 28 [Knesset] seats disappeared off the map. They can become ours.”

Yedioth states on its Page 10 “winners and losers” coverage that the only clearcut loser of the deal is Yair Lapid. “Lapid left his job as news anchor at Channel 2 to serve in the Knesset; after yesterday it has become clear that he left too early.”

The papers are split over whether Labor and its leader Shelly Yachimovich are also hurt by the unity agreement. While Labor was poised to increase its number of seats in the election, being the leading party in the opposition could give it more visibility. Israel Hayom has an op-ed from Labor MK Eitan Cabel who states that this is a historic opportunity for the party. He goes on to expound on all the virtues of Labor and how it is now the only true alternative to the unity government.

Is Mofaz a winner or loser in this agreement? It’s hard to decide by the coverage. While most of the papers characterize the deal as one of political necessity for Mofaz, it remains to be seen how it will affect his credibility with the public. Maariv dedicates the entirety of its Page 12 to the flip-flopping of Mofaz — “Zigzagging all the way to the coalition.” The article is a highlight reel of the reversals he has made over his political career, including his 2005 statement not to leave the Likud and then leaving it together with Ariel Sharon, days later.

A dirty trick?

The papers debate whether or not the agreement is a “dirty trick” or just politics as usual. Ari Shavit writes in Haaretz in an article titled, “Dirty trick, but a promise,” that while the coalition agreement is a dirty trick, it holds the promise of being a more centrist government. “After the rampage at the Likud event Sunday night, Netanyahu finally understood – Likud has lost it.” Shavit goes on to explain that by bringing in Kadima, Israel has a stable, secular and centrist government.

Ben Caspit, writing in Maariv, writes a similar piece but calls the agreement a smuggler’s move, not a dirty trick. Bibi is the smuggler trying to get the Feiglins of the Likud with this move. Caspit also references the Likud central meeting on Sunday and the Supreme Court’s bashing of the government’s attempt to get more time for the Ulpana neighborhood as a wake-up call for Netanyahu that all would not go well for him. Of the agreement Caspit says, “It was not planned, it was not calculated, but it was genius.”

Israel Hayom’s Dan Margalit defends Netanyahu by stating that the prime minister didn’t have any great options with the right threatening to torpedo the elections and the left holding him in such contempt, he had to turn to Mofaz. “Such tactics are never preferable, not comfortable, but this is not a dirty trick.”

Finally, the papers all report on a spontaneous demonstration last night in Tel Aviv against the unity government, which drew around a thousand participants, among them several politicians including former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni. Haaretz, which placed the story on its front page, reported that there were scuffles between police and demonstrators when police tried to break up the demonstration, which the police stated  was not legal.