Close race, but right-wing bloc is majority
I'm going to add more to this topic later, but for now, the result is: while Kadima has one seat more than Likud (28-27), the right-wing bloc itself has more than the left-wing bloc (65-55).
More on this later.
Update: okay, now I'm ready to say more. As Alison Kaplan Sommer tells here, any celebrating that Tzipi Livni and company may be doing at their HQ could be short-lived. Because as told already, the right-wing bloc is the real winner here, and could have an easier time forming a coalition. The army vote does need to be counted yet though.
Of course, one has to wonder just where Avigdor Lieberman is headed, and if he'll cooperate at his end. But even if he and his party were to go with Kadima, it'd still be hard to form a stable coalition, because even with Labor, it's not enough to form a coalition.
Speaking of which, Labor suffered the worst defeat of their entire existence in the Knesset, falling to barely 13 seats. That's not good news for Ehud Barak, who could be facing a backlash in his own party.
Likud, while they may be a seat behind Livni, did manage to double their Knesset representation back to a good number, and have some good members on their list now, including Tzipi Hotobeli, a religious-Zionist member who used to work as a reporter.
Now, it remains to be seen just where things are headed from here.
More at Hot Air.
Update 2: Newsbusters reports that CBS correspondent Richard Roth is being a "rightophobe" in talking about all this. Predictably.
Update: okay, now I'm ready to say more. As Alison Kaplan Sommer tells here, any celebrating that Tzipi Livni and company may be doing at their HQ could be short-lived. Because as told already, the right-wing bloc is the real winner here, and could have an easier time forming a coalition. The army vote does need to be counted yet though.
Of course, one has to wonder just where Avigdor Lieberman is headed, and if he'll cooperate at his end. But even if he and his party were to go with Kadima, it'd still be hard to form a stable coalition, because even with Labor, it's not enough to form a coalition.
Speaking of which, Labor suffered the worst defeat of their entire existence in the Knesset, falling to barely 13 seats. That's not good news for Ehud Barak, who could be facing a backlash in his own party.
Likud, while they may be a seat behind Livni, did manage to double their Knesset representation back to a good number, and have some good members on their list now, including Tzipi Hotobeli, a religious-Zionist member who used to work as a reporter.
Now, it remains to be seen just where things are headed from here.
More at Hot Air.
Update 2: Newsbusters reports that CBS correspondent Richard Roth is being a "rightophobe" in talking about all this. Predictably.
