Unable to form a government, Binyamin Netanyahu calls an early election
Not for the first time, his rivals sense an opportunity
IT WAS NOT even two months ago that Binyamin Netanyahu declared “a great victory” after his Likud party took 35 seats in a hard-fought election. The voters seemed to have given the prime minister an unprecedented fifth term; soon he would become Israel’s longest-serving leader. His bloc of nationalist and religious parties held a 65-seat majority in the Knesset (see chart). All that was left was the haggling, over cabinet posts and policies, before Mr Netanyahu announced his new government.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Back to the ballot box”
Middle East & Africa June 1st 2019
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From the June 1st 2019 edition
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