Netanyahu stays strong ... in his ability to shift all of the debates onto Iran & Hezbollah

OXFAN: Excerpts: Netanyahu stays strong at head of coalition  Wednesday, September 30 2009  "... A recent poll found that security, and primarily the Iranian nuclear threat, topped the Israeli public's list of policy priorities, followed by the economy and education. Only 0.5% of the Israeli public believes that the peace process with the Palestinians should be the government's first priority. Currently, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government is very strong and could take action on the peace process if it chose to. However, this is only because all potential challengers are weak, both in themselves, and because he has managed to draft all his policy statements so that he does not alienate leaders on either his left or right.  Coalition Partners. The parties in government pose little challenge to Netanyahu's policies ...............Those outside the coalition also pose little challenge .... Obama's efforts. Despite Netanyahu's ability to act, US President Barack Obama's inability to secure concessions from the Palestinians or Arab states to entice the Israelis into softening their position meant that the debate in Israel on whether the country should bow to Obama's demands was stillborn. Netanyahu's aides were able to use the confrontation with Obama to shore up the prime minister's position among the far-right by claiming that Netanyahu had "stood up" to the United States.  Netanyahu's position was further strengthened by Obama's initial insistence on a total freeze in the construction of settlements..... Obama's shift to merely urging 'restraint' in construction was taken by the Israelis as a sign that he had finally realised that he had gone too far. ... Shifting the focus. Netanyahu's only real demonstration of leadership to date -- and his only real policy hold over his government -- has been his ability to shift almost all of the national debate onto the Iranian nuclear issue. As a result, he has been able to leave every major and potentially divisive economic and social issue -- including the peace process -- in abeyance..... International distraction. Netanyahu's position was further strengthened by the revelation last week about the secret Iranian nuclear processing centre in Qom. The Israelis had long known about the site, and had anticipated that its existence would be revealed by the end of this year as the subject of sanctions against Iran became an increasingly important foreign policy issue for Washington.  The US announcement, the strong support for it given by the United Kingdom and France, as well as the subsequent apparent softening of Russian opposition to sanctions, all played into Netanyahu's hands. The Palestinian issue was driven off the front pages and Israel's opposition politicians had little choice but to rally behind Netanyahu's public emphasis on the issue....  With the economy now out of the recession, Netanyahu is likely to remain strong in the foreseeable future -- so long as he is not forced to make a decision or take a position on any nationally divisive issue. Potential challengers are weak, and he is protected on all sides, leaving no threat to his leadership."