When will Israel have a new government?
If the opinion polls prove correct, following the General Election on 7 May, British voters might be waiting some time before they learn who is to form the next Government and on what basis.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for Israeli voters. They went to the polls on 17 March but, more than a month later, still do not know what Government they are going to have. This week the “Times” of Israel had this report:
“With a resounding election victory last month, Netanyahu seemed to have an easy path toward quickly establishing a coalition government with his traditional nationalist, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies. But after weeks of negotiations with potential partners, Netanyahu is finding the task harder than expected and is reportedly — at least according to threats from Likud officials — flirting with the idea of reaching out to his main dovish rivals in Zionist Union to form a unity government.
Throughout the heated campaign, Netanyahu ruled out the possibility of joining forces with Isaac Herzog and his center-left Zionist Union and vowed to rule from the right.Election results gave his Likud party 30 seats and secured him a potential 67-seat majority with his traditional allies. In negotiations, however, these allies have made demands to head powerful government ministries.
Under Israeli election rules, if Netanyahu fails to form a coalition at the end of 42 days — the first 28 plus the two-week extension — Rivlin can assign someone else the task of doing so. While this is technically possible, it is unlikely that Zionist Union would have an easier time establishing a coalition. If no one succeeds in forming a coalition, the president would be left with no choice but to order a new national election.”
You can read my short guide to the Israeli political system with a summary of the election results here.