It’s finally happened. The coalition Kadima-Likud coalition government is no more.Although he’s been threatening to leave for weeks, Mofaz only broke from the coalition a few hours ago. The Likud-Kadima coalition lasted 70 days and the Tal Law expires at the end of the month.Michael Koplow, on his blog Ottomans and Zionists offered the following on the dire implications for Kadima:
As for Kadima, this misguided move today is going to be the final nail in the coffin. Mofaz is first going to have to deal with a rump party following the MKs who break off and head for Likud, not to mention the other group of 7 that wanted to break away in May and start a new party to be headed by Tzipi Livni and Haim Ramon. Then there is the problem that Kadima has essentially transformed itself from one single issue party (disengagement from Gaza) to another single issue party (equalizing the burden of service), and while this is a popular issue, it is not enough to sustain a viable party (Kadima’s new slogan is apparently “Kadima L’Shareit” which means Kadima, To Serve, or more literally Forward, To Serve). Mofaz still has no real credibility on social justice issues, and what little benefit of the doubt anyone was willing to grant him vanished into thin air the day he joined forces with Bibi.
And the The Camel's Nose blog had this to say about Bibi's future without its coalition partner:
PM Netanyahu will be able to either re-form his old coalition, or win in new elections. However, if Netanyahu does join up again with the far right, his actions on Tal Law will have damaged his political capital there. This means that such a coalition will force Bibi to tack hard to the right, alienating him from the Israeli public who support Haredi service in the IDF. He will also be forced to take a softer line on settlements, harming Israel's capital with the US and the international community.
With Netanyahu at the reigns and and Mofaz back on the sidelines, who knows what the November 2013 race will bring?