Israel´s Netanyahu faces elusive prospect of stable gov´t

However, both Livni and Labor chief Ehud Barak, two members of Israel's outgoing leadership troika, showed little interest. Since the inconclusive general election, the former had insisted that the public selected Kadima and she should be the one to form the next government.

Israel's Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Feb. 20, 2009. Israeli President Shimon Peres officially entrusted Netanyahu with the task of building a coalition Friday  afternoon, 10 days after the parliamentary election.  (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

"I will not be able to serve as a cover for a lack of direction. I want to lead Israel in a way I believe in, to advance a peace process based on two states for two peoples," said Livni after meeting with Peres.

Yet the current foreign minister did not shut the door tightly. She has hinted that she was ready to accept an agreement with Netanyahu on a rotating premiership, which might see each of the two be prime minister for half of the four-year term. However, to that option, Netanyahu has so far shut the door tightly.

As to the Labor party, which slipped to the fourth and its lowest position in the parliament, Barak and other senior members said that they would stay in the opposition and strengthen the decades-old party in order for a forceful return.

Without Kadima and Labor, Netanyahu would have to opt for a narrow coalition. The would-be premier is widely expected to succeed, as he has received support from the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, which came in third in the election with 15 seats and became the potential king-maker.

However, such a rightward-leaning government would find its sustainability a daunting challenge. Apparently, with 55 centrist and left-wing lawmakers sitting in the opposition, the government would lack a convenient majority to carry out its policies.