Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition leader, Benny Gantz, have begun what could be a prolonged period of high-stakes political bartering after an inconclusive election in Israel showed neither had a clear path to form a coalition.
Many Israelis hoped the poll, the second in five months, would provide clarity and pull the nation out of a political crisis. But the muddy results that trickled in on Wednesday appeared to deadlock the country instead.
With Israeli media reporting more than 90% of the vote counted, Gantz’s Blue and White party had 32 seats while its rival Likud had 31. Both leaders have vowed to lead Israel’s next government, but would need to form unlikely alliances with smaller parties to do so.
Netanyahu wants to extend his record-breaking stretch as prime minister by forging pacts with religious politicians and far-right ultra-nationalists. The 69-year-old is not only fighting for his political life but also potentially his freedom, with pre-trial hearings for three corruption cases against him opening in just two weeks. A majority in the 120-seat parliament could help grant him immunity from prosecution.
Speaking on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu insisted his party and its rightwing allies had chosen him to remain leader, even as it was unclear how he would form a government. “We decided unanimously that we’re going forward together to negotiations that will establish a government led by me,” he said.
Late on Wednesday, he cancelled a trip to the UN general assembly next week, in order to deal with the political crisis at home. Gantz, a former general, has looked to centre and leftwing parties. But even those deals fall short of a parliamentary majority of 61 seats.
In the middle stands Israel’s seeming kingmaker and staunch secularist, Avigdor Lieberman, who has called for a secular unity government of Likud, Blue and White, and his own party, the rightwing nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home).
“The conclusion is clear,” he said outside his home in the occupied West Bank settlement of Nokdim on Wednesday. “There is one and only option: a national unity government that is broad and liberal and we will not join any other option.”
Later, he said that if Netanyahu and Gantz were not interested in the proposal, “they should not make the effort to call me, for us there is no other option”. Lieberman’s plan was to exclude religious parties, but the option could be blocked by Gantz who has ruled out sitting in government with Netanyahu. It is not clear which of them would serve as prime minister, or whether they would split the four-year term.
Source: Theguardian
Featured Image- Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz. Photo / Theguardian
