Jerusalem (CNN) -- The pundits in Israel, the United States and the West Bank have pretty much forecast the winner of Tuesday's Israeli national elections.
Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing political coalition with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman-- Likud Beitenu -- will prevail. He'll trot to the finish line in an easy horse race, analysts say, citing poll after poll.
But this is just the first stage in forging a new government. After the election for Knesset seats, the arduous government coalition-building begins.
That's not a horse race, It's a bit of "foreplay," as one newspaper put it, and hard-nosed political jockeying.
For now, the 34 parties running from the right, center, and left are maneuvering but digging in their ideological heels.
"The data projects not a more right-wing Knesset," said Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, "but a more polarized one."
