Israeli Elections Update

On the other side of the world election results are pouring in.

According to the Jerusalem Post, it is now looking like Kadima (forward), the centrist party, is going to get around 30 mandates (seats in the Knesset). Likud, the right-wing party is expected to get 27 or 28 mandates while Labor will get 13 and Yisrael Beiteinu is expected to get 15 mandates.

These results, in support of Tzipi Livni, are fairly complicated, even as the Galatz announcer says, "Israelis said yes to Tzipi, no to Bibi."

The close results will make it difficult to form a government, and will require certain concessions to be made to some of the smaller parties, particularly as Livni tries to keep Ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu and Avigdor Leiberman, their controversial leader, out of the government.

More here and here, and if you want to hear it in Hebrew, here