This is a huge blow for Kadima. This means that Kadima and Labor only have 48 seats between them, that may actually be less than they had in the current parliament (though I'll have to check). On the right, Likud, Israel Beitenu, Shas, and NRP/NU collectively come to approximately the same number of seats, and if you include United Torah Judaism, they have significantly more seats.
This is really disasterous for Labor as well. Peretz was supposed to bring in 28 seats when he first became Labor chairman.. and even that was a figure that never would have been acceptable for Labor in the past. And yet he only got 20 seats! Even less than in the last election, which was considered a disaster for labor.
Oh, and welcome to Free Republic.
Was the Likud campaign really this inept?
Kadima will form a stable coalition. Its policies on unilateral withdrawal, are supported by about 75 of the members of parliament who were elected, and that is without the 9 Arab votes.