Today was the day by which Kadima leader Tzipi Livni was supposed to have formed a coalition. With Ehud Barak and Labour on board — but not the ultra-orthodox Shas party — Livni was granted a two-week extension by Israeli President Shimon Peres to form a coalition and thus avert early elections. From the Jerusalem Post:

“…Livni told the president that she was serious about the obligation bestowed upon her to form a government, and that she hopes to complete the task as soon as possible.


…Peres told Livni that such negotiations ‘require much effort,’ and implored her to ‘take this opportunity to exhaust the process to its fullest.’


Monday is the final day of the four weeks Peres granted Livni to form a government, and legally he is only allowed to give her two more. If by November 3, Livni doesn’t succeed in forming a government or passing a bill in the Knesset setting a date for elections, they will be held on January 27, the final Tuesday within 90 days.


Livni’s negotiators expressed optimism that they would be able to reach a deal not only by the final deadline, but by the unofficial deadline that they set for themselves: the first day of the Knesset’s winter session next Monday. But they admitted that reaching a deal with Shas and other potential coalition partners by that date would be extremely difficult. “

Haaretz has a good analysis on just how difficult bringing Shas into the fold is for Livni: “large differences, and no progress.” Yesterday, former Shas Party spokesman Itzik Sudri became a political adviser to Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who eyes the prime minister post himself.