Knesset member Zeev Elkin (Likud Beitenu) plans on becoming prime minister. “It’s a long-term plan,” he said. “I’ve got time and patience. I need to gain more experience. I’m not one of those politicians who barely settle into the Knesset seats before announcing that they will be prime minister.” Elkin plans a stop on this long route: to serve as minister of education. Overtaking Avigdor Liberman as “the leading right-wing Russian” is a critical step on his way.

The interview with Elkin, 41, was conducted right before the swearing-in ceremony for the new Knesset, the third in which he will serve, at his home in the settlement of Kfar Eldad. The small settlement, of just over 100 families, is right on the very edge of the Judean Desert. It is so small that when you ask someone to place it for you, they say, “It’s near Hanokdim,” another small settlement that has gained notoriety thanks to the fact that it is where former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman lives. You reach both of the settlements by taking a relatively new road that bypasses Palestinian villages on the way and cuts travel time from Jerusalem to 25 minutes. In the local lingo, it is known as Liberman Road. Urban legend has it that the road was paved for the convenience of the chairperson of Israel Beiteinu. While driving down it, you pass by the Herodium, a military base that is very surprisingly positioned, as it is practically adjacent to a lovely Palestinian home, and it would appear that the two of them live exceedingly well side by side.

The Elkin family moved into their new home just a few months ago. Until that time, they lived in a cramped trailer, waiting for permits to build a permanent residence on the site. The problem was resolved when Minister of Defense Ehud Barak went to visit Elkin in the trailer following the death of his father. Barak, a gifted pianist, was sickened by the thought that water that was then leaking from the roof could damage the family’s piano. A short time later, Barak ordered permits be arranged for permanent homes for all families in the settlement. In exchange, he asked for a plaque that would read, “This piano was saved thanks to Ehud Barak.” Elkin said, “For me, this story embodies the very essence of Barak,” and proudly displays the plaque with the exact inscription.

At the very outset of the negotiations now under way to form the coalition, a political analyst on television defined Elkin, chairperson of the government coalition and highly active in the previous Knesset, as “the most important member of the outgoing Knesset.” Others call him the “most dangerous Knesset member.” Elkin is familiar with both definitions.