coalition negotiations are like the afikomen

Elections and coalition negotiations are very timely, falling out right before, and during, Pesach.

It seems to me that coalition negotiations are very much like the afikomen on Pesach night.

The kid finds or steals the afikomen, and because his dad needs it, the kid holds out until dad gives into his demands...

The potential coalition partners are the same - they make their demands, and they hold out as much as possible, knowing that the leading party will give in, at least to most of the demands, because the leading party needs the smaller parties to form a coalition.

This is why the small parties, the narrow-interest parties, wield too much power - more than what they should have based on their size. This is one of the main problems with Israel's electoral system.

And it does not matter which party is the "winning", or leading, party. Whether Labor of Likud, or in the future maybe a different party. In this system, the leading party has to give in to many of the demands of the small parties, in order to form a coalition.

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