Arkady Duchin entertained the guests at the festive cocktail party after the Knesset swearing-in with "Who Loves You More Than Me," but the song that perhaps suited the atmosphere a little better is Melancholy on the Roof.
The wine flowed freely, and the guests happily nibbled on nuts. But despite the beautiful ceremony and the love songs, the air was still. It was neither stuffy nor stuffy. It was a little chewy. Here we meet again, with the taste of chewing from the previous time noticeable.
Even before President Rivlin arrived at the upper chamber of the Knesset, the lack of interest of some of the elected officials was evident.
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Rivlin, who could perhaps be called an austerity president, was condemned to reduced ceremonies (who does not remember the modest inauguration ceremony at the height of the Protective Edge war?). He was escorted in by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and other dignitaries, but not all Knesset members were present in the audience that received him.
Mostly the newcomers arrived. The rest of the chosen ones wandered around the Mishkan, organizing themselves in their offices.
Of those who went up into the open air, my eye caught Knesset members Zeev Elkin, Ayelet Shaked, Danny Danon, Chilik Bar, and Nissan Slomiansky.
The new MKs all showed up with their excited family members, but the veterans did not. When the event takes place in just two years, the excitement level drops.
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The last to arrive at the square was the opposition leader, MK Yitzhak Herzog. Accompanied by his wife Michal, Herzog went to the front row to shake the hand of the chairman of the elections committee, Judge Salim Joubran.
Immediately, in the background, between the two figures, the new young MK Oren Hazan appeared. He was sitting nearby and jumped into the frame.
Yes, I'm aware that everyone has already heard of him. There is no person in the State of Israel who doesn't know about the new MK and his exploits.
And what do I think of him? So far, nothing. Liran is wearing a gray shirt. The young MK is popping up everywhere, and entering every frame.
Here he is at the height of a lively conversation between the opposition leader and the judge. Wherever I turned my eyes in the Knesset, starting from Sunday (when I popped into the Knesset to receive the invitation to the ceremony) - a cantor appeared in front of me. Friendly, chatty and energetic.
What did he have to contribute to the polite conversation between a former leading candidate and the chairman of the elections committee? No one knows. But just in case, he's there.
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The strange, gloomy atmosphere continued to accompany the day. Yair Lapid was forced to miss the traditional photo session of the faction leaders, as he was in a hurry to attend to his personal matters. The photo session was slightly delayed, as they had almost forgotten about Naftali Bennett.
It's been happening to him too much lately. This feeling that someone is forgetting him or is about to forget him.
I managed to sneak a few words with senior officials in both major parties. One senior official here, one senior official there. And despite the gaping chasm between Likud and Labor on every issue, there is one thing they agree on at this stage – there is no dialogue between the parties, and there is no room for dialogue.
As of today (and I'm only willing to commit to today), the work is not on the way in.
More from yesterday's corridor talks: Opposition MKs are worried about what's expected. They see the coalition, which will consist of three religious parties (of all stripes), and are concerned about the area of gender equality.
Members of Knesset and ministers always say that they were elected by a specific public, but represent the entire people. But that is almost never true.
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And there were other clearly unceremonious matters: Immediately after the ceremonies, a statement was issued by the Finance Committee about the first meeting (for Wednesday, April 1) of the temporary Finance Committee headed by Nissan Slomiansky. Let no one forget at the end of the ceremony that there is a state budget to pass.
The Knesset is taking action after a very turbulent election campaign, and within a short period of time, the elected officials must pass the state budget.
Oh, oh, what sparks will fly in the Finance Committee.
Two factions are playing the role of "the new kid in the classroom" - Kahlon's Kulanu and the Joint List. While the Joint List immediately entered their intended role, sectoral, alienated, present in the Mishkan, but with a divided heart, in Kulanu they are supposed to jump immediately from civilian life into positions in the coalition.
As far as I'm concerned, this time too - just like with Yesh Atid - we are dealing with a group of quality people, with good intentions and diligence. Not job seekers, or people who ended up in the Knesset by chance.
On the other hand, expectations from them are sky-high. Moshe Kahlon is asking for portfolios, positions and committees, in order to immediately begin addressing the cost of living, but he is not a magician. He is not Superman. He is one man surrounded by nine inexperienced Knesset members. He is an officer going into battle with privates.
How will this business be run, after they achieve everything they achieve in negotiations? Kahlon won't be able to be responsible for each of them all the time, in every committee and every meeting. My feeling: the Likud guys will eat them alive, even without salt.
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And there were other grim signs: the prime minister's speech. Netanyahu said that his door was open to everyone, and that he intended to form a government "whose first task would be to heal the rifts. This is a task that unites us all, and I am at the head of it.".
He said - and in less than two hours, he hosted at his home the singer Amir Benayoun, who dedicated one of his latest songs to a certain "Ahmed", which happens to be the most common name in the Arab sector. Benayoun wrote that Ahmed "is mild and smiling today, tomorrow I will fly to heaven/ I will send a Jew or two to hell.".
There are people on the right who are not bothered by these texts. I already understand that. There are people who do not see Benyon as a hate-monger. But if there are enough people in the rest of the nation who see him as a problematic singer, how does inviting him to be the Likud's honorary singer fit in with the "first task of healing the rifts"?
It seems that the prime minister's first task is to stoke the quarrels, factions, and tensions.
