The Netanyahu-led coalition had been creeping toward collapse for weeks. (ARCHIVE)
Jerusalem:
Israel’s parliament was dissolved on Wednesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fractured ruling coalition failed to pass a budget, prompting a fourth election in two years and renewing an unprecedented political crisis.
The coalition led by Netanyahu and his former electoral rival, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, had been creeping toward collapse for weeks, undermined by mutual mistrust and acrimony.
The dissolution of parliament, the Knesset, could lead to elections starting March 23, likely forcing Netanyahu to seek re-election while the coronavirus pandemic still continues and his long-awaited corruption trial intensifies.
The coalition led by Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud and Gantz’s centrist Blue and White Party had until midnight to pass a 2020 budget.
Failure to do so will legally force the dissolution of parliament, Knesset spokesman Uri Michael told AFP on Tuesday.
The expiration of the deadline marks the end of a troubled political marriage between Netanyahu and Gantz, who faced off in three inconclusive elections in April and September 2019 and again in March.
Budget battle
They agreed to form the so-called unity government in April.
Gantz has said he never trusted Netanyahu, but wanted to save the Israelis a fourth election, especially when the pandemic was accelerating.
The three-year coalition agreement stipulated that Netanyahu would serve as prime minister for 18 months, with Gantz taking office in November 2021.
Gantz demanded that the government pass a budget covering both 2020 and 2021, arguing that Israel and the coalition needed stability.
But Netanyahu refused to endorse a 2021 budget.
That, critics said, was a political tactic to keep the coalition unstable, making it easier for it to bring down the government before it had to cede power to Gantz.
“The reason we are heading to an election is because Netanyahu refused to pass a budget as required by law and honor political agreements so that he could remain in power for the duration of his trial,” said Yohanan Plesner, head of Israel. Democracy Institute Expert Group.
On Sunday night, Azul and Blanco said they had an agreement with Likud on a bill to buy more time to pass the budget.
But the Knesset rejected that bill on Tuesday, following another bitter round-trip between Netanyahu and Gantz.
Lawmakers from Likud and Blue and White voted against the coalition’s proposal.
Gantz, currently in preventive quarantine for coronavirus, was unable to vote.
‘Risk everywhere’
Both Netanyahu and Gantz face substantial political risks in the new elections, especially if they are held in March.
Political commentators have said that Netanyahu always planned to force an election before vacating the prime minister’s office for Gantz, but would have preferred a voting date in June or later.
That would have allowed more time to vaccinate the public against the new coronavirus and hopefully propel Israel’s economy toward recovery.
A March election would force Netanyahu to campaign in February, when he must appear in court several times a week for his trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
He is accused of accepting improper gifts and seeking to exchange favors with media moguls in exchange for positive coverage, but denies wrongdoing.
Netanyahu also faces a new challenge from the influential right-wing Gideon Saar, who left Likud to form his own New Hope party.
Multiple polls suggest that Saar could remove significant support from Netanyahu if the elections were held soon.
Netanyahu is expected to highlight recent achievements, including a series of normalization agreements negotiated by the United States with former rival Arab states.
But he will no longer be able to boast of his strong alliance with outgoing President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Gantz’s political fortunes have plummeted.
Blue and White fractured when they made a deal with Netanyahu, and recent polls suggest the party would win only a handful of seats if elections were held soon.
Gantz’s former ally, Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, became the opposition leader in parliament, but voter polls indicate Lapid would have difficulty forming a government.
Overall, the prospects for center-left parties appear weak, possibly complicating any attempt by the government of President-elect Joe Biden to renew Israel’s commitment to the Palestinians.
“We entered this election with a clear lead in the polls for the political right,” said IDI’s Plesner, while emphasizing “the growing possibility” of a right-wing camp emerging that refuses to accept Netanyahu as prime minister. .
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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