The country's longest-serving Prime Minister is fighting to stay in power as his party loses seats in Tuesday's election. Is it all over for Bibi?
September 18, 2019 11:12
Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu could be out of a job after more than a decade as Israel's Prime Minister following Tuesday's election result.
His last 10 years as prime minister have seen a shift in how some view the world's only Jewish state, as settlements controversially continue to be built in the occupied West Bank, Bibi himself vows to annex the Jordan Valley if he wins and the prospect of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians seems further away than ever.
Bibi was fighting for a fifth term as Prime Minister after winning elections in 1996, 2009, 2013 and 2015. His failure to form a coalition following April's election triggered a national first - two elections in the same year.
His repeated victories earned him the nickname "the Magician" among his allies but with the latest results giving fewer seats than he hoped for, has the spell worn off?
With 90 percent of votes counted, Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party is the second largest party with 31 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s single-chamber parliament. In April, the party won 35.
The largest party - with 32 seats - is set to be Blue & White (Kahol Lavan), a centrist party led by ex-military chief Benny Gantz. Blue & White also won 35 in April.
The third largest party is the Joint List of Arab parties, with 13 seats, which has hinted it may support for Mr Gantz.
No party has ever won an outright majority in the Knesset, which has 120 seats. Instead, the largest party usually negotiates with smaller parties to form a coalition government.
Likud has previously been propped up by a collection of smaller right-wing parties, including the Strictly Orthodox United Torah Judaism party and Zionist party Jewish Home.
After the April election, Mr Netanyahu failed to form a government despite a month of negotiations. A motion to disband the Knesset and hold a fresh election was passed.
For Mr Netanyahu to survive, he would need to form another right-wing coalition, while Mr Gantz can likely only take over if he can form a bloc made up principally of left-wing parties.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will recommend a leader to form a government, based on the party with the most seats. This will be after all the results are declared and he has met all the leaders — so likely next week.
The leaders of the parties will be invited to begin negotiating the terms of a coalition: this may include what issues they want to pass laws on, and what areas they want to leave alone.
If no coalition can be formed, the Knesset will vote again to have fresh elections, which would likely take place early next year.
To hold on to power, Mr Netanyahu can negotiate a coalition that would have 55 seats.
However, to form a majority government, Mr Netanyahu would need the support of right-wing party Yisrael Beiteinu, which has nine seats — up from the five they won last time.
Similarly, Benny Gantz’s Blue & White party could form a left-wing bloc with 56 seats, but they would also need the support of Yisrael Beiteinu to put them over the line.
This has led to some commentators calling Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman a “kingmaker”, as he will decide whether Mr Netanyahu or Mr Gantz become Prime Minister.
As Mr Gantz currently appears to lead the largest party, it is more likely he will be asked to form a government. But they may not be able to bridge their differences with Yisrael Beiteinu’s right-wing stance.
Mr Lieberman stated early on Wednesday morning, as the votes were counted, that he supports a “broad liberal unity government” which would be comprised of Yisrael Beiteinu, Mr Netanyahu’s Mr Likud and Gantz’s Blue & White.
If this were to happen, it would be a matter of negotiation who would be made Prime Minister. One possibility is Likud remains part of the government while Mr Netanyahu is unseated as Prime Minister.
