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From: TT
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Photo: Tal Shahar / AP / TT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, during a press conference in Tel Aviv in July.
It is cracking at the seams of Israel’s fragile government building.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partner Benny Gantz threatens new elections, but this is not something any of them really want, according to one expert.
Benny Gantz and his party, the Blue and White Alliance, voted Wednesday to dissolve parliament. The decision in the Knesset was made by votes 61-54.
It is true that several readings are needed in Parliament before that decision is final. But Gantz’s choice to join the opposition side in the vote shows the long and deep gap in government cooperation between the Blue and White Alliance and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.
“Placed on its tip”
The collaboration came this spring after three elections in a row ended in no time without a clear majority for Gantz or Netanyahu’s political camp. Instead, they agreed to share power in a deal in which Gantz is scheduled to take over as prime minister in November next year.
– Collaboration has been cracking at the joints for a long time, it hasn’t worked at all. But now he’s turned on his head because it’s about the budget, says Israel expert Isabell Schierenbeck, a political science professor at the University of Gothenburg.
– No one thought the collaboration would work particularly well either. But now there is talk that Netanyahu and Gantz hardly speak to each other anymore.
“He lied”
Gantz accuses Netanyahu of delaying work on a budget in his own political interests.
“Netanyahu did not lie to me,” Gantz said in a speech on Tuesday, according to the AFP news agency.
– He lied to everyone.
Netanyahu’s critics accuse the prime minister of trying to harm Gantz politically by making it difficult for him to change his post as prime minister. Under one provision of the coalition agreement, new elections can be forced if the government fails to get a budget adopted.
– Netanyahu promised to pass a budget in August, but of course he did not keep his word. He promised it would happen in December but does not complete this, says Gantz.
– Does anyone still trust him?
Noisy game
The Defense Minister adds that it is now up to Netanyahu to prevent new elections by ensuring that a state budget is created.
Netanyahu, in turn, has urged his coalition partner to stay put on the boat.
– This is not the time for elections. It is time for cohesion, the Prime Minister said Tuesday.
Gantz runs a great political risk if he pursues the threat of new elections. Internal divisions arose within his own alliance when he decided to form a government with Netanyahu and Gantz’s own popularity figures have fallen according to the latest opinion polls.
– Considering what appears in public opinion, neither Netanyahu nor Gantz want new elections at this time. Gantz’s party is divided into three factions and Netanyahu’s Likud has lost voters to the right-wing Yamina alliance, says Schierenbeck.
– What Gantz hopes is to be able to push a budget that allows him to approve his proposals. But the government is very likely to fall.
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