He was a central figure in the failed coalition negotiations with the Labour Party the same year.
However, coalition negotiations with the French-speaking parties, who rejected any reform, proved extremely difficult.
But depending on how coalition negotiations evolve, her party's influence could increase.
While his position now looks bleak, he could still get his way in coalition negotiations that are scheduled to begin on Thursday.
As the last several weeks of coalition negotiations have shown, however, anything is possible in the end.
It is common practice in Israel to appoint ministers without portfolio as part of the coalition negotiations.
He also urged any prospective candidates for the position to wait until coalition negotiations were complete before announcing their candidacy.
Speed has not been a usual feature of Israeli coalition negotiations.
But, as I wrote this morning, the prime minister abandoned this approach in the coalition negotiations.
The constitutional requirement to form a government within a set time period also heated up the coalition negotiations.