JERUSALEM — In the weeks since he was chosen to form Israel's next government, Benjamin Netanyahu has labored to dispel the perception that he's on a collision course with the country's most powerful ally.
Never mind his history of spats with Washington, or that he refuses to embrace the goal of an independent Palestinian state, a cornerstone of American policy reaffirmed by President Obama last week.
And never mind that religious parties in his coalition call for expanding the Jewish settlements in the West Bank that Obama has criticized. Or that his foreign minister lives in one.
Netanyahu, expected to be sworn in as prime minister today, speaks with utter confidence that none of this record matters. He claims that Obama, with whom he has met twice, is "open to new ideas" -- including his ideas -- on how to address the region's conflicts.
How much common ground Netanyahu can find with Obama will help define whether it's possible to advance toward Middle East peace in the coming years. Israel's alliance with the United States has endured a history of policy disputes, often rooted in the chemistry between the countries' top leaders. Netanyahu's previous turn as prime minister was no exception.
Aides to Netanyahu say the incoming prime minister's right-wing ideology has been tempered by lessons learned when he led a narrow, hawkish coalition government in the 1990s and clashed with President Clinton, who reportedly found him arrogant.
As he formed his coalition this time, Netanyahu softened his hawkish tone, telling parliament Monday that he would do his "utmost to achieve a just and lasting peace with all our neighbors." He also brought the left-leaning Labor Party into his government, reducing the clout of right-wing and religious parties and giving him room to compromise in his dealings with Washington and the Arab world.
"Netanyahu 2009 is very pragmatic. He puts Israel's interests first, but he does not ignore that one of those most important interests is the close relationship with the United States," said Zalman Shoval, a former ambassador to Washington who advises the prime minister-designate.
The new U.S. administration is equally pragmatic, Shoval said, "and realizes it can have a partner who, no less than they, wants to succeed."
Netanyahu, 59, spent part of his youth in Philadelphia, got a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and speaks flawless English. But Americans found him to be a difficult partner in his first term.
