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Negotiations to form a Likud-led coalition government have continued in low gear during the Passover holiday, but are set to resume at full pace next week with an initial 22 April deadline looking to finalize a new government.

Further talks took place this week between representatives of Likud and Jewish Home. Likud leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during the election campaign that Jewish Home would be the first natural partner his party would turn to. However, Jewish Home is reportedly insisting on support for a number of controversial legislative initiatives as a condition to joining the coalition. They include measures which would allow the Knesset to override Supreme Court decisions which declare proposed laws unconstitutional. Another measure would revamp the system for selecting new justices, giving greater power to the legislature. Meanwhile, Likud is thought to have already agreed to a Jewish Home move to clamp down on foreign government funding for Israeli NGOs.

No coalition talks are thought to have taken place this week between Likud and Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu Party, which would become the second largest coalition faction should it join the government. Kahlon is thought to have demanded that he become Finance Minister and that his party also control the Housing and Environment Ministries, plus some aspect of the Interior Ministry coveted by Shas leader Aryeh Deri.

Kulanu MK Roi Folkman told Army Radio yesterday that if his party did not receive the tools to bring about social change, “there is not much point for us to be in the government.” Without saying as much explicitly, Folkman appeared to concur with media reports that Kulanu would like to see the Zionist Union included in a national unity government. He said, “It is clear that in principle we would love to see as many partners as possible in the government.”

Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that Likud will push for coalition partners to support a biennial rather than annual budget, to ensure greater governmental stability.