what’s Bibi Netanyahu going to be like now that he’s had to form a coalition government with two little parties which are even more far-right than Netanyahu’s Likud?

The late-night deal saved Netanyahu from the almost unthinkable scenario of being forced from office. But it set the stage for the formation of a narrow coalition dominated by hard-line and religious parties that appears to be on a collision course with the US and other allies.

With a slim majority of just 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament, Netanyahu could also struggle to press forward with a domestic agenda.

Negotiations between Netanyahu and the Jewish Home leader, Naftali Bennett, came down to the wire on Wednesday night due to Bennett’s last-minute demands, chief among them that the justice ministry be headed by controversial party member Ayelet Shaked. Netanyahu ultimately agreed to hand over the ministry but will insist on limiting some of Shaked’s powers.

A politician for only two years, Shaked has been very vocal about her contempt for the liberal-leaning supreme court. As part of the deal, she is expected to be a member of the security cabinet and head the ministerial committee for legislation. However, Netanyahu does not want her to head the committee overseeing the nomination of new judges, or have the authority to appoint rabbinical judges.

[snip]

The coalition talks were first plunged into crisis on Monday by the surprise announcement by Lieberman that he intended to resign and lead his party into opposition, unhappy with the shape of the emerging government. Before Lieberman pulled out, Netanyahu had hoped to forge a rightwing religious lineup with a majority of 67 of parliament’s 120 seats.

Now the ruling coalition has only one majority seat, making it extremely narrow. Analysts say it is unlikely to survive for long, as any Knesset member can block a vote when it comes to the floor, making it extremely difficult to pass the budget or any reforms.

Maybe this will mean that Bibi has to focus on domestic issues for a while and will be too busy with that to try to meddle in the ongoing P5+1 talks with Iran.

Nah.