Israel: Failed attempt to form a government, third elections already in March

(Patria) – The Israeli parliament, led by designated prime minister Benny Gantz, failed to form a government by the deadline on Wednesday evening, making a third election highly likely.

This will only prolong the year-long agony that has paralyzed the government and significantly eroded public trust.

Israel is now entering a three-month political campaign that is not expected to yield different results from the previous ones, only more division in the prolonged power struggle.

Recall that the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted in November for bribery, embezzlement, and breach of trust, just weeks after his (yet another) failed attempt to form a government. Netanyahu denies all charges and has no intention of resigning, hoping that the prime minister's office will grant him immunity.

The third elections will most likely be held on March 2, 2020 – a date agreed upon by the two main rivals in the power struggle, Netanyahu's Likud party and Gantz's Blue and White alliance. These two parties won almost equal voter support in the last elections (Blue and White won one more seat in parliament), but failed to agree on entering a unity national government, which President Reuven Rivlin tried to persuade them to do. Although he enjoys the support of several parties with which he can form a coalition, Netanyahu was abandoned by his former ally, secular nationalist Avigdor Liberman, who accused him of giving too much power to ultra-Orthodox parties. Thus, Netanyahu was left without a parliamentary majority.

In the previous elections in April, Likud and Blue and White also won an equal number of seats in parliament. However, it remains uncertain whether Likud will want Netanyahu as leader, given that his legal troubles are increasingly affecting voter sentiment.

'Keep children away from the television,' said Yair Lapid, leader of the Blue and White party, suggesting that the campaign will be a 'festival of hatred, violence, and disgust.'

- What was once a celebration of democracy has become a disgrace, Lapid claims, adding that 'there are only three reasons for new elections – bribery, embezzlement, and breach of trust,' alluding to the content of the indictment against Prime Minister Netanyahu.