“You will be prime minister, but the Likud will not be the ruling party” — this angry prophecy was uttered by a top Likud minister in the ears of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about three months before elections, and a few hours before the Likud — Yisrael Beiteinu merger was officially declared.

“If you go with [then-foreign minister Avigdor] Liberman, you will lose the centrist votes that can be yours. It can cost us as much as ten mandates,” the minister warned. But his words evaporated in the euphoric atmosphere that Netanyahu created; Netanyahu was certain that he had forty secure mandates in hand.

Now, as Netanyahu’s coalition-building efforts become more and more entangled and problematic, the minister’s prophecy seems right on target. While Netanyahu ensured the prime minister role for himself, he left the Likud party powerless and torn to pieces from infighting among its top echelons over the few positions that remain for distribution after the coalition partners receive the most sought-after portfolios.

The atmosphere in the Likud is harsh, morale is low and anger at Netanyahu gathers strength as coalition negotiations drag on. The election fiasco and its repercussions only become clearer with time. Don’t let the current silence on the part of Likud officials mislead you; it is mainly the result of justified concern over quarrelling with the prime minister just before he hands out the portfolios. But these voices will not remain silent forever. Immediately after the Likud portfolios are handed out, the have-nots will raise their voices — and there will be quite a few of these.