Haaretz is not giving Netanyahu much of a grace period. According to a poll just published, 54 percent of Israelis are “dissatisfied” with the new government. Yet while pundits are justifiably bashing the gargantuan composition — 30 ministerial positions were required to satisfy this bizarre coalition of Left and Right, a government a quarter the size of the Knesset — Haaretz gives us no indication how much of this has contributed to the poll results.

In fact, there is no indication whether the dissatisfaction is coming from the Left or the Right, or both, or neither. As Shmuel Rosner pointed out, Netanyahu is steering his Right-heavy electorate towards dead center, at least as far as his opening-day rhetoric indicates. Nor does Haaretz mention whether dissatisfaction with the new government reflects opposition to its policies. With the media on the attack before Netanyahu has done anything, it’s not even clear whether 54 percent is a large number or, as we may suspect given the tone of Israeli public discourse, a pretty small one.