Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Tuesday (April 20) for the organization of a referendum to elect the next head of government, as he struggles to form a coalition after winning the legislative elections.
Read also: Israel: in the elections, Benjamin Netanyahu relies on his management of the Covid
His right-wing Likud party won 30 of the 120 seats in the Knesset in the March 23 legislative elections, the fourth in less than two years. Benjamin Netanyahu won the support of ultra-Orthodox parties and a far-right alliance, but failed to muster a majority of 61 seats. On April 6, he was commissioned by President Reuven Rivlin to form the next government but has not yet succeeded in putting it in place. “
We need a quick referendum to break the political deadlock
,” Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters. “
Let the voters decide who their next prime minister will be.
"
Benjamin Netanyahu, 71, called on Sunday Gideon Saar, who left Likud to form his own party at the end of 2020, to join him in a "
right-wing government
". But his opponents are working behind the scenes to form a government to replace Benjamin Netanyahu, the most enduring Israeli prime minister, in office for 12 years, and who is currently on trial for corruption in three cases.
On Sunday, the centrist Yair Lapid, of the Yesh Atid party (17 seats), proposed a unity government comprising parties from the right, the center and the left, excluding that of Benjamin Netanyahu.
But this coalition would gather only 58 seats.
A referendum could allow Benjamin Netanyahu to stay in power but, according to experts, such a poll could also create a new impasse.
Universal suffrage, already used in the past
There have been three elections for prime ministers by direct universal suffrage in Israel.
The last one in 2001 made it "
difficult
" for the government to "
pursue a coherent policy
," write Assaf Shapira and Amir Fuchs of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank.
Likud candidate Ariel Sharon largely defeated outgoing Prime Minister Labor Ehud Barak at the time.
"
The disproportionate power of small parties made the government work with the constant fear of early elections
", add the two experts.
Read also: Israel: Netanyahu, prophet in his country
For Times of Israel reporter Tal Schneider, Benjamin Netanyahu would need the votes of 61 MPs to change the electoral law, "
and if he had them, he could have formed a government
."
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/YIT2H5TROFPAFR4W2AWJLHOP6Y.jpg)
