JERUSALEM: After barely 12 months in office, the leader of IsraelThe U.S.’s broad-based but severely weakened coalition government threw the towel this week, saying they would dissolve parliament and hold new elections – the fifth in less than four years.
Why does this keep happening?
The simplest answer is that Israel is deeply – and almost equally – divided over whether Benjamin netanyahu Must be prime minister. But it is also because Israel’s political system is comprised of ideologically diverse parties that have to form alliances – and sometimes break them – to get what they want.
Here’s a look at how Israel got to this point and what happens next.
multi party politics
Israelis vote by party, and in the country’s 74-year history no single faction has won a majority in the 120-member parliament, known as knesset, So after every election, any prime minister has to form an alliance for a majority of at least 61 seats.
This gives great power to smaller parties. After nearly every election, attention is focused on one or more potential kingmakers and their particular demands. For example, in last year’s election, thirteen parties were elected to parliament. This could result in weeks of talks and horse-trading between various party leaders.
If no one is able to garner a majority, as happened after elections in April and September 2019, re-elections are held in the country and the government remains as a caretaker.
Still, it shouldn’t be that hard. Nationalist and religious parties occupied the majority of seats in the Knesset in each of the last four elections, if only they could agree with each other.
This is where Netanyahu comes in.
love him or hate him
To his right-wing and religious supporters, Netanyahu is the “King of Israel”—an unattainable nationalist and veteran politician who can go toe-to-toe with world leaders, from Russia’s Vladimir Putin to US President Joe Biden, who You can guard Israel through yourself. Myriad security challenges.
To his opponents – including the leaders of the outgoing coalition – he is a crook at best and a threat to democracy at worst. They point to his ongoing corruption trial, his overbearing style and his knack for inciting internal divisions for political gains.
Netanyahu was Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and his likud The party finished first or second in all four elections. But he was never able to form a right-wing majority because some of his ideological allies – including former allies – refused to part ways with him.
Take Avigdor Lieberman, for example. The West Bank resident who leads a right-wing party and has long been known for his fierce anti-Arab rhetoric appears to be an obvious ally. But he severed ties with Netanyahu in 2019 and refused to sit in government with him or his ultra-Orthodox allies.
Lieberman also supported a bill that would bar anyone on criminal charges from serving as prime minister – an attempt to end Netanyahu’s political career.
a heavy alliance
Netanyahu’s opponents succeeded in ousting him from power after election number 4 last year.
Naftali Bennett – Another right-wing former Netanyahu ally – and centrist Yair Lapid, stitched together a coalition of eight political parties across the ideological spectrum – from right-wing nationalists to advocates of the Palestinian state, including a smaller Arab Islamist party.
The factions put aside their ideological differences and worked together for some time. The government passed a budget, weathered two coronavirus waves without imposing a lockdown, improved diplomatic relations with Arab and Muslim countries and avoided war. As prime minister, Bennett also tried his hand at mediation between Russia and Ukraine.
But from the outset, the government had the least majority, and Netanyahu exerted enormous pressure on its right-wing members, accusing them of partnering with terrorists and betraying their voters. Several right-wing members of the coalition received death threats, including Bennett.
In the end, many bowed out, and Bennett’s Yamina party all collapsed. The government lost its majority in April. This month, it failed to pass a law granting special legal status to Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, which most Israelis consider necessary.
New election, same division
The Israelis are now expected to return to the polls in October, where they will face a familiar option.
Netanyahu is hoping to return, and Likud and his allies are expected to win more votes than last time. Some of his right-wing opponents, weakened by their affiliations with the coalition, could lose some or all of their seats.
But it is too early for any credible vote, and even if Netanyahu and his allies secure more seats, they may still fall short of a majority.
If this happens, it will be left to the same parties that formed the outgoing government to form a new coalition, which will face the same tensions as the previous one.
And if neither side has enough support to form the government?
You guessed it: new elections.
Why does this keep happening?
The simplest answer is that Israel is deeply – and almost equally – divided over whether Benjamin netanyahu Must be prime minister. But it is also because Israel’s political system is comprised of ideologically diverse parties that have to form alliances – and sometimes break them – to get what they want.
Here’s a look at how Israel got to this point and what happens next.
multi party politics
Israelis vote by party, and in the country’s 74-year history no single faction has won a majority in the 120-member parliament, known as knesset, So after every election, any prime minister has to form an alliance for a majority of at least 61 seats.
This gives great power to smaller parties. After nearly every election, attention is focused on one or more potential kingmakers and their particular demands. For example, in last year’s election, thirteen parties were elected to parliament. This could result in weeks of talks and horse-trading between various party leaders.
If no one is able to garner a majority, as happened after elections in April and September 2019, re-elections are held in the country and the government remains as a caretaker.
Still, it shouldn’t be that hard. Nationalist and religious parties occupied the majority of seats in the Knesset in each of the last four elections, if only they could agree with each other.
This is where Netanyahu comes in.
love him or hate him
To his right-wing and religious supporters, Netanyahu is the “King of Israel”—an unattainable nationalist and veteran politician who can go toe-to-toe with world leaders, from Russia’s Vladimir Putin to US President Joe Biden, who You can guard Israel through yourself. Myriad security challenges.
To his opponents – including the leaders of the outgoing coalition – he is a crook at best and a threat to democracy at worst. They point to his ongoing corruption trial, his overbearing style and his knack for inciting internal divisions for political gains.
Netanyahu was Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and his likud The party finished first or second in all four elections. But he was never able to form a right-wing majority because some of his ideological allies – including former allies – refused to part ways with him.
Take Avigdor Lieberman, for example. The West Bank resident who leads a right-wing party and has long been known for his fierce anti-Arab rhetoric appears to be an obvious ally. But he severed ties with Netanyahu in 2019 and refused to sit in government with him or his ultra-Orthodox allies.
Lieberman also supported a bill that would bar anyone on criminal charges from serving as prime minister – an attempt to end Netanyahu’s political career.
a heavy alliance
Netanyahu’s opponents succeeded in ousting him from power after election number 4 last year.
Naftali Bennett – Another right-wing former Netanyahu ally – and centrist Yair Lapid, stitched together a coalition of eight political parties across the ideological spectrum – from right-wing nationalists to advocates of the Palestinian state, including a smaller Arab Islamist party.
The factions put aside their ideological differences and worked together for some time. The government passed a budget, weathered two coronavirus waves without imposing a lockdown, improved diplomatic relations with Arab and Muslim countries and avoided war. As prime minister, Bennett also tried his hand at mediation between Russia and Ukraine.
But from the outset, the government had the least majority, and Netanyahu exerted enormous pressure on its right-wing members, accusing them of partnering with terrorists and betraying their voters. Several right-wing members of the coalition received death threats, including Bennett.
In the end, many bowed out, and Bennett’s Yamina party all collapsed. The government lost its majority in April. This month, it failed to pass a law granting special legal status to Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, which most Israelis consider necessary.
New election, same division
The Israelis are now expected to return to the polls in October, where they will face a familiar option.
Netanyahu is hoping to return, and Likud and his allies are expected to win more votes than last time. Some of his right-wing opponents, weakened by their affiliations with the coalition, could lose some or all of their seats.
But it is too early for any credible vote, and even if Netanyahu and his allies secure more seats, they may still fall short of a majority.
If this happens, it will be left to the same parties that formed the outgoing government to form a new coalition, which will face the same tensions as the previous one.
And if neither side has enough support to form the government?
You guessed it: new elections.