Although Tuesday’s election is the fifth time Israelis have to vote since 2019, the turnout is at noon. amounted to 28.4%the highest percentage at that time since 1999, a sign that the electoral fatigue and political crisis it did not discourage the population from going to the polls.
In a scenario of inflation and continuing tensions with the Palestinians and Iran, the most important issue of the vote is, once again, former leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his suitability to serve in the midst of allegations of corruption.
His main rival is the man who helped oust him last year, centrist custodian Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
“This election is (an election) between future and past. So go out and vote today for the future of our children, for the future of our country, “Lapid said after voting in the upscale Tel Aviv neighborhood where he lives.
The surveys predict a result similar to the previous ones: stagnation. But a powerful new actor threatens to turn things around.
Itamar Ben-Gvira prominent far-right politician, he has recently risen in opinion polls and will seek a tougher line against the Palestinians if it helps propel Netanyahu to victory.
The political arc is thus divided the pro Netanyahu blockaderight-wing populist, religious Jewish and ultra-Orthodox parties that would support the return to power of the former prime minister, and the anti Netanyahu blockadea fusion of center, left and right parties, led by Lapid.
The polls they do not grant a clear majority to anyone of both sides. The pro-Netayahu bloc would add more votes but the latest polls give it no more than 60 seats, one less than the majority in the Israeli parliament (called the Knesset) of 120 deputies.
With this scenario, the post-election negotiations to form a government it is expected to be arduous and the possibility of a sixth election if no one succeeds, they should be called up for May 2023, prolonging the country’s political instability and paralysis.
A fact that can determine the outcome of these elections is Arab participationwhich should be particularly low in these elections, which would benefit the pro-Netanyahu side if the Arab formations fail to surpass the minimum vote threshold.
Accusations of corruption and political impasse
With former allies and proteges refusing to sit at his command while on trial, Netanyahu has been unable to form a majority government feasible at the 120-seat Knesset.
“I’m a little worried,” Netanyahu said after voting. “I hope to end the day with a smile”.
Similarly, opponents of Netanyahu, a constellation of ideologically diverse parties, are prevented from coming together all 61 places necessary to govern.
That stalemate plunged Israel into an unprecedented political crisis it has eroded Israelis’ confidence in their democracyits institutions and its political leaders.
“People are tired of the instability, of the government not fulfilling its obligations,” said Yohanan Plesner, a former lawmaker who now heads the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.
Encouraged by the near-sectarian worship of his followers, Netanyahu, 73, has rejected requests for resignation from opponentswho say someone has tried for fraud, breach of trust and taking bribes cannot rule.
Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing, but embarrassing details of his ongoing trial appear repeatedly on news portals and headlines.
In the fragmented Israeli politics, no party has ever achieved a parliamentary majority, and to govern it is necessary to create a coalition. Netanyahu’s most likely path to the presidency requires an alliance with ultra-nationalist extremists and ultra-Orthodox religious parties.
These parts would require key wallets in a Netanyahu government, and some have promised to implement the reforms they could do get rid of legal problems by Netanyahu.
The ultranationalist party of religious Zionism, whose provocative lead candidate, Ben-Gvir, he wants to deport the Arab legislators and he is a disciple of a racist rabbi who was assassinated in 1990, promised to support legislation that would alter the legal code, weaken the judiciary, and could help Netanyahu escape conviction.
Ben-Gvir, who promises a tougher line against Palestinian aggressors, announced this week that he will run for the cabinet post that oversees the police force.
Critics have raised the alarm on what they see as a destructive threat to Israeli democracy.
“If Netanyahu wins,” wrote columnist Sima Kadmon in the newspaper Yediot Ahronot, “These will be the last days of the State of Israel as we have known it for 75 years.
Source: EFE and AP
Source: Clarin
