DRAMA IN ISRAEL - AT 7:32 P.M. ET:  There was significant political news out of Israel today.  The Labor Party, Israel's founding party but now only its fourth largest, agreed to join a coalition government to be led by hard-liner Binyamin Netanyahu.  This saves Netanyahu's neck and guarantees that he will have the parliamentary votes needed to become prime minister.  It also gives him political cover.  Absent the Labor Party, he would have had to go for a government coalition entirely from the hard right.  That government would probably have collapsed quickly, and its makeup would have damaged Israel's standing with the United States.

There are plenty of people around Obama who would like the United States to distance itself from Israel (and apparently most other allies), as we grovel to our "misunderstood" enemies.  With Labor in the Israeli government, softening the edges, their argument that Israel is overly rigid loses some steam. 

At the same time, it's clear that Israel suffers from a surplus of democracy.  Its proportional representation system gives small groups inordinate power to block the formation of governments.  Electoral reform is due, moving the country closer to a two-party system.  In a country where the national government is essentially local, this may raise some hackles, but it is necessary for stability.

March 24, 2009