TEL AVIV, Jun 4 (NNN-ANI) – Israel’s opposition parties have reached an agreement to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been the longest-serving leader of the nation, after staying in power for 12 years. This comes following the emergence of a coalition deal between centrist Yair Lapid and the far-right Naftali Bennet, along with six other parties.
This move is a result of several corruption charges levied against Netanyahu and his wife, for which they are under trial. However, the leader denies all charges. It appears now that a combination of parties will take turns governing the nation-state. The first new Prime Minister is expected to be Naftali Bennett, who belongs to the right-wing party; the second will be from a centrist party. Notably, this coalition includes an Arab party as well, and reportedly has 61 out of 120 seats. If it loses that narrow majority, Israel will once again have to go in for another election.
Israel has so far seen four national elections in the past two years alone. In all of these, no political party seemed to have won a majority on its own and the party that formed the government was able to do so by allying with other parties. After the Mar, 2020 elections, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party famously joined hands with Benny Gantz’s centrist party, Kaḥol Lavan, also known as Blue and White, to form a unity government. However, the fractious coalition did not last long and by Dec, 2020, the government collapsed again after the Knesset (parliament) failed to pass the annual budget Bill, thereby pushing Israel into another election.
In the Mar, 2021 election, voters once again gave a split verdict. While Likud emerged as the biggest party this time as well, with 30 seats out of 120, it still failed to form a majority to make up a single-party government; and this time Likud also could not form a coalition with other parties to meet the majority mark.
Following Netanyahu’s predicament of being unable to form a government, the country’s President invited the second-largest party in the Knesset with 17 members, to form the government. Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid was faced with the mammoth task of putting together a coalition that would hit 61 seats.
Lapid’s Yesh Atid, Gantz’s Blue and White joined hands and together they have 25 seats. Six other parties have also banded together – the right-wing Yamina with 7MKs (Member of Knesset), centre-right New Hope with 6MKs, centre-left Meretz with 6MKs, Labour Party with 7MKs, the secular right party, Yisrael Beiteinu which has 7MKs and finally Arab Ra’am, which has won four seats in the recently concluded elections. Together, the eight-party coalition now has 62 seats, just enough to cross the majority mark, but with a razor-thin difference, even if a single MK backs out, Israel will have to start all over again.
Netanyahu, who is under trial on corruption charges, the best outcome that awaits him is Bennet’s failure to prove majority in the Knesset, following which the country will move into another round of elections, and he gets to stay in power until then, with certain Prime Ministerial immunity. If he is ousted, he might have to face the music, if the allegations prove true and is convicted. He will remain leader of the Opposition, if the charges against him are quashed.– NNN-ANI
