4301

Didn’t Likud come in second in the last election? And they still formed a government anyhow so…

4302

The blue and white actually came in second, 35 seats to likud’s 38, but likud want able to get a governing majority.

For some reason, i don’t know why, Gantz was actually set up to become the PM designate, but then the Parliament dissolved itself to prevent that, triggering these new elections. But the blue and white gained ground this time, it looks like.

Gantz had straight up said that he will not form a coalition with Bibi, due to all the corruption and crap… But I’m not sure if the blue and white will be able to form a governing coalition either.

There’s at least a shot though that Israel may be controlled by a centrist government in the future.

4303

Yup, another day off yesterday so I spent 10 minutes and voted. I see us in an endless loop of elections every four months while nothing progresses or changes.

Maybe the charges against Bibi will come to an end, some day.

4304

The problem is that Blue and White have adopted Likud’s promise to officially annex much of the occupied territories and make them permanently part of Israel proper.

4305

Gantz said his party won the election outright, receiving a larger share of the votes than Likud. He also said he would continue to pursue the creation of a centrist, secular and liberal government.

Netanyahu expressed disappointment. “I was surprised and disappointed that at this time Benny Gantz still refuses to respond to my call to meet,” he said in a tweet.

Netanyahu’s turnabout comes as Israel’s fractious political system enters the dealmaking phase, with the two main parties jockeying for the support of other factions until one of them can form a government. A ruling coalition needs at least 61 seats out of a total of 120 in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset.

The shortest path to a majority for either major party is to turn to the other for a coalition and share the prime minister’s job and other top positions on a rotating basis. Israel has had several such unity governments, including a period in the 1980s when rivals Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir shared power.

Netanyahu and Gantz both appeared — and shook hands — at a memorial service for Peres on Thursday, and Netanyahu called for the parties to follow his example of power sharing.

“When there was no clear outcome from the Knesset elections, Shimon chose national unity. He and Yitzhak Shamir agreed to cooperate, to navigate Israel’s path to safety,” Netanyahu said in remarks at the service.

But in today’s Israel — a polarized country with Netanyahu one of its most polarizing figures — a unity government would be a tough sell, even if the two party leaders begin to talk.

4306

Ao I lost, but why won’t he let me keep my job?

4307

I’m so confused about Israeli politics. The guy gets fewer votes, but acts like he’s the one who should be in charge. He couldn’t put a majority together after the last election when he got more votes…

4308

Hmmm… this seems sickingly familiar.

4309

There are a few paths here, and one or two could leave Bibi back in control.

Neither party has a majority by themselves. Gantz’s party has more overall votes, but needs other parties to join in before he can cross the 61-seat line.

Gantz’s party is a center-right group and he COULD join with the far-right and religious groups (and Likud) that recently abandoned Netanyahu to form a majority, but he doesn’t want to do that – his stated goal is to create a coalition of centrist parties. Plus that deal would probably see him sharing power with Netanyahu, which Gantz doesn’t want.

But if Gantz CAN’T find enough seats to form a centrist government, the ball shifts back to Netanyahu. At that point, the Likud, as the second-largest member party, could scrape together enough allies to pass the 61-seat threshold… and if they do that, then Netanyahu stays in power and doesn’t have to share.

4310

From what I’ve seen, the Blue and White is generally considered center-left, not center-right.

4311

Here’s an interesting break down.

Relevant bit:

There is no governing majority for the left.

4312

I just don’t see the math working out according to wiki. 33/61 seats. The left has another 11 seats. The Arabs have 13, and you are still 1 short. And traditionally, the Arabs have never been part of the government.

4313

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-second-stage-of-israels-election-process-president-could-be-kingmaker/2019/09/22/9cd4849c-dbce-11e9-a1a5-162b8a9c9ca2_story.html

4314

All of Netanyahu’s sucking up to Trump has really paid off!

4315

" A man reaps what he sows."

4316

Yup, delighted to see Netanyahu and Israel pay the price for working with/empowering/enabling Trump.

4317

Well, this isn’t a bad thing for Netanyahu, really. It makes it much easier to play the “we’re surrounded, and anything we do is thus justified” card that the right in Israel has been wedded to for decades.

4318

Right, Likud depends upon Hamas and Hezbollah.

4319

Yeah, fear and instability benefits authoritarians.

4320

Bibi “Mr. Security” Netanyahu will lap this up.

In this time of grave threat to our country, I’m being persecuted by those who would prioritise their own selfish ambitions over the good of the great people of Israel…

…you know how it goes.