Government in Israel without Netanyahu: Historic and Fragile

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Coalition partner: Yair Lapid (front) hugs Naftali Bennett in the Knesset

Photo: ABIR SULTAN / EPA

Benjamin Netanyahu did something incredible - without wanting to.

He has achieved that eight parties form a government that have little in common.

Besides the desire to replace Netanyahu.

since

8:57 p.m. local time, Israel is ruled by a coalition that could hardly be more peculiar.

It consists of eight factions, which divide a lot and connect little.

And which is historical anyway - or precisely because of it.

• What does the coalition look like?

There is

Yamina

, in English "to the right" - a party that keeps what the name promises.

Its chairman, Naftali Bennett, has been Israel's prime minister and Netanyahu's successor since Sunday.

He's also: a tough nationalist and a man who wants to annex parts of the West Bank.

Bennett strictly rejects a Palestinian state - unlike

Meretz

,

for example

, a left-wing party that is also part of the coalition.

There are also several center-left to center-right groups.

And

Ra'am

, an Israeli-Palestinian party that supports the government.

Applied to Germany, this is roughly as if the CDU, the AfD, the Greens and the Animal Welfare Party formed a coalition.

• How did this unusual alliance come about?

Israel's society is highly fragmented.

Because the hurdle for entry into parliament is only 3.25 percent, more and more games have recently made it into the Knesset.

It became increasingly difficult to form a government from the many factions.

In 2019 alone, Israeli citizens had to go to the polls twice.

Even so, neither party succeeded in forming a government.

In 2020, Netanyahu formed

a grand coalition with Benny Gantz's

blue-white

center faction

.

But the government failed. In March of this year, Israel had to be elected again.

For the fourth time in two years.

Netanyahu's

Likud party emerged

as the strongest

party

in the March 23 election, but again failed to form a government.

Therefore, Yair Lapid, whose

future party received

the second most votes, got the chance.

Although 70 percent of Israelis did not believe in his success, according to a survey, Lapid managed to gather many unusual partners behind him.

In return, Lapid made some major concessions.

Bennett, for example, he offered to become prime minister for the first two years - Bennett's party is one of the smallest in the coalition.

But only with

Yamina

did the alliance get the 61 of 120 Knesset seats that are necessary for a government.

• How is an alliance supposed to govern that has little in common?

In Israel one does not yet know for sure. The government was "fragile" from day one, writes the daily newspaper "Haaretz". Also because it has a very small majority: If only one member refuses to give his approval in the future, the alliance will collapse.

In fact, there is hardly any point on which the parties can agree. Not only does the view of the Palestinians divide the coalition, they also have little in common domestically. The tech millionaire Bennett, for example, is economically liberal,

Meretz is

social democratic. Bennett is considered a national

religious

, the MP Avigdor Lieberman, whose party

Our House Israel

is shaped by Russian immigrants and who also joined the coalition, fights against the amalgamation of state and religion. And then there is

Ra'am

, the Israeli-Palestinian party, which also has its roots in Islamism. Some factions want to introduce same-sex marriage in Israel, but

Ra'am

strictly rejects it.

Many Israelis are skeptical of how long this government will last

It seems to be clear to everyone involved that the ideological rifts can hardly be closed.

That is why they first want to take care of the areas in which the differences are smallest.

They want to stimulate the economy and support tourism, which has suffered from the corona crisis.

The tech industry, an important branch of the economy in Israel, should also be promoted.

But the differences cannot be completely excluded.

Many Israelis are therefore skeptical of how long this government will last.

• Why is there still a great opportunity in this coalition?

Benjamin Netanyahu was in power in Israel for twelve years, and many Israelis can no longer imagine the country without him. Even some opponents admit that he has achieved a lot in some areas: Unemployment fell to a record low before the corona crisis, and Israel signed peace treaties with several Arab states during Netanyahu's tenure.

But Netanyahu also deliberately split the country.

In order to stay in power, he warned to the last of a "dangerous left government," even claiming that the last election had been betrayed.

During his tenure, he railed against Palestinians and verbally abused demonstrators who demanded his resignation.

And despite being charged with corruption as the first prime minister in office, Netanyahu categorically refused to vacate his post.

A signal to the population

Israel's new government is a reflection of Israeli society: divided, divided, ideologically far apart.

The fact that politicians are now shaking hands and want to at least try together is also a historical signal to the population.

One must "lead Israel out of the crisis," said Lapid in May.

"From the corona crisis, the economic crisis, the political crisis and, above all, our crisis, within the citizens of Israel."

The new government should not only build political bridges, but also encourage voters to approach each other in their everyday lives.

One can only wish them to succeed.