LITTLE more than a month ago Binyamin Netanyahu resoundingly won a fourth term in Israel’s elections. On the face of it, his path to a new coalition was straightforward: he could have formed a stable right-wing government, or even a unity government with the defeated Labour party. But Israel’s political fragmentation, and Mr Netanyahu’s own divisive campaign tactics, mean he is struggling to form a government. On April 20th he was forced to ask President Reuven Rivlin for a two-week extension of his coalition negotiations.

Armed with the endorsements of five parties, apart from his own Likud, he has the basis for a government supported by 67 Knesset members—a relatively stable majority. All broadly share a right-wing perspective and there should have been relatively few problems in agreeing on the new government’s policies. Yet wrangles over coalition agreements are proving fractious: Habayit Hayehudi is demanding more ministers than its parliamentary size warrants, and Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the much-reduced Yisrael Beiteinu, insists on remaining foreign minister. Likud insiders are predicting that Mr Netanyahu will be happy to leave Mr Lieberman, his former chief of staff, in opposition. That would mean forming a coalition with only 61 MKs, the tiniest of majorities. Such an outcome would give every backbencher inordinate power over the prime minister and signal a coalition with a short lifespan, even by the standards of Israeli politics.