Netanyahu Scrambles to Solidify Position as Israelis Ponder What Their Unpredictable PM Will Do Next

This was only supposed to happen in the politically topsy-turvy banana republics of South America.  But here it is, playing out on center stage, in Jerusalem, supposedly the model of world democracies.

The fast-spinning political wheel in that sliver of a Mideast country with only 7.8 million residents has even sophisticated Israelis wondering what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will do next.

In the first week of May, Netanyahu told his public he was considering calling early general elections for about Sept. 4.

He gave no reason for his decision. His right-wing Likud Party wasn't in trouble.  The Prime Minister himself enjoys a fairly healthy following in his second four-year term. The government is considered the most stable Israel has had in years.

In the second week of May, however, Netanyahu canceled the early election plans and announced he had struck a deal with opposition leader Shaul Mofaz of the centrist Kadima party to set up a unity government.

Now you have to be aware that Mofaz is a former Israeli military chief and defense minister.  Like Netanyahu, Mofaz is a hard-liner when it comes to dealings with nuclear site-developing Iran, a neighbor only 970 miles down the road.

Israelis speculate one reason for the sudden marriage of Likud with Kadima is that Netanyahu may already be laying the political groundwork for a late-year air bombing strike on Iran's nuclear sites.  But that speculation has moved all over the map in the past two years with nothing happening.

The deal with Kadima, however, has definite military overtones to it.  For example, Kadima agreed to join Netanyahu's government only if the prime minister's party agrees to a military deferment for ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The deal stipulates that Mofaz will serve as deputy prime minister and that two other key parties, Yisrael Beitenu and Shas, had agreed to the move.

Kadima members will also serve as head of the Knesset's powerful Security and Foreign Affairs Committee.

So what could Netanyahu be planning next?

He seriously wants to serve a third four-year term and he desperately would like to be re-elected before the U.S. presidential election Nov. 6.

His thinking is that a re-elected Barack Obama could work to undermine his own re-election. Netanyahu and Obama, outwardly, are not considered bosom buddies.

What does it all mean at this stage?  The betting is: Look for an early Israeli election.