Amidst the ongoing political upheaval in Israel, a consensus has been reached between the opposition political parties. Consequently, the incumbent government, which has been in power for 12 years under the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will not rule Israel. In the elections held in March, Netanyahu’s party could not touch the majority mark.
Being the leader of the single largest party, Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister. However, he could not prove his majority. After this, the number two party and their allies were invited to form the government. For this, he had to prove his majority by midnight of Wednesday, June 2.
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8 parties formed an alliance
Half an hour before the end of this deadline, the leader of the opposition Yair Lapid announced the formation of the new government. He said that an alliance has been formed between the eight opposition parties. Now he will form the government. He has informed President Reuven Rivlin about the coalition’s consent. Now the new government can be administered the oath after voting in the house.
Two Leaders will serve as PM by turn
According to the agreement between the opposition parties regarding the alliance, now the leaders of both the parties will become the Prime Minister in turn. Naftali Bennett, the leader of the right-wing Yamina Party, will be sworn in as prime minister first. He will remain in this post till 2023. After that Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party will become Prime Minister.
Lapid said that this government will work for all citizens of Israel. For those who voted for us and for those who didn’t. It is the responsibility of the government to maintain solidarity in Israel.
Where did Netanyahu fail?
Critics of Benjamin accuse him of being a polarising figure. Besides, there are many corruption allegations on him, that led to the tag him as “Crime Minister”. He is on trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. A shrewd politician, many expected him to stick together a coalition. But his deal-making touch left him, with many rivals wanting to emerge from his shadow.
Israel saw 4 elections in 2 years
If the coalition also fails to form the government, elections would certainly be held in Israel for the fifth time. There was political instability here for the last two years.
BREAKING: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, has been ousted as Prime Minister.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 2, 2021
Rival parties say they have reached a coalition to name far-right nationalist Naftali Bennett, who supports illegal settlements and opposes Palestinian rights, to replace him. pic.twitter.com/mCgIIzYe4I
In the general election held in March, Netanyahu’s party was not successful in securing a majority and he did not get the support of allies. He needed 61 seats out of 120 to prove his majority. After this, the leaders of the opposition were given 28 days to form the government. But the process was delayed due to the conflict in Gaza.
The new coalition is very heterogeneous
However, the new coalition consists of allies from the left-wing party Meretz to Bennett’s right-wing Yamina party. It also includes the Islamist Party United Arab. This is the first time the Arab Israel Party is part of a coalition.