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Israel is due to vote for the fourth time in two years in March. Since the ruling coalition was unable to agree on a new budget before midnight, the parliament was automatically dissolved.
New elections are expected in Israel, the fourth time in two years. This time Parliament was the trigger. Knesset MPs were unable to agree to pass a budget in time for the midnight deadline. This means that Parliament is automatically dissolved, as required by law. And that in turn leads to a new election, which is expected to take place on March 23, 2021.
The failed deal also leads to a rift in the ruling coalition. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White alliance had argued over the budget from the start. In general, the coalition was marked by hostility and mistrust. Netanyahu and Gantz had spoken in favor of extending the deadline for budget approval, but not all of their MPs voted in favor.
Under the original agreements, Gantz should rise to the top of the government by the end of November next year. Observers suspected that Netanyahu deliberately wanted to force new elections before handing over power to Gantz.
Reciprocal guilt
The elections must take place amid the coronavirus pandemic, while the Israeli economy is in recession and multiple corruption trials are underway against Netanyahu. “If an election is imposed on us, I promise you we will win,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech, blaming Gantz for the early voting. “Netanyahu is pressuring us to decide not to go to jail,” Gantz wrote on Twitter. Netanyahu is betting on a new government to have the lawsuit against him dropped.
The former head of government is currently in a difficult position. On the one hand, he is criticized for managing the crisis during the pandemic, on the other hand, several Likud MPs are expected to join Netanyahu’s opponent, Gideon Saar.
The center-left electoral alliance Blau-Weiß von Gantz should not benefit from the new elections. While it was able to garner the most votes in the penultimate vote in September 2019, the alliance is only sixth or seventh in the most recent polls.
