Rafi Eitan, head of the Pensioners Party, expressed great joy at his party's success. A former Israeli intelligence officer, and the recruiter and handler of imprisoned spy Jonathan Pollard, he said last month that if elected to the Knesset, he would work for Pollard's release.According to the Bloomberg article on the election, Kadima regards Pensioners as a natural ally and potential coalition partner. There are a couple of very small parties which have newly won seats. Dunno offhand how many Kadima will need, but it looks like it's Olmert's party now. :') Meanwhile, Bibi blames Ariel Sharon -- still in a coma -- for Likud's poor showing, but that's right in character for Bibi.
Kadima 28,
Labor 20,
Shas 13,
Yisrael Beitenu 12,
Likud 11,
NU/NRP 9,
Retirees 7,
UTJ 6,
Meretz 4,
Balad 3,
Hadash 3,
United Arab List 4.
Livnat, Katz and Shalom Absent at Likud Meeting
02:50 Mar 29, '06 / 29 Adar 576
http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=101040
"In view of its crash at the polls Tuesday night, senior members of the Likud party met at its Tel Aviv headquarters to discuss the election results. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Knesset members Silvan Shalom and Yisrael Katz, however, did not attend the meeting."