Tel Aviv Israel’s coalition lost its slim majority in parliament on Wednesday morning. The alliance with which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has governed for ten months has not fallen apart. But it is no longer able to pass laws in Parliament.
The former high-tech entrepreneur knew from the start that he had built a highly unstable coalition. First, it only has 61 seats in the Knesset, which has 120 members. Second, the alliance is extremely diverse. It consists of parties whose ideologies differ radically from each other. Represented are secular and religious factions, hawks and doves, market economists and social democrats and, for the first time, an Arab party. The ideological differences are swept under the table so as not to jeopardize the existence of the coalition.
But early Wednesday morning, coalition leader Idit Silman set off a domestic political bombshell. Silman, who was elected on the list of Bennett’s “Jamina” party, is stepping down. According to Israeli media reports, she has made a deal with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, according to which she will stand as a candidate on the list of his Likud party in the next elections. In return, Netanyahu promised her that she would take over the Ministry of Health in his government.
Netanyahu exults. “The government’s days are numbered,” he says, adding that he could soon build an alliance made up of right-wing and religious parties. However, he is currently unable to form a coalition under his leadership that would have a majority in the Knesset. He lacks around half a dozen MPs for that. That’s why he’s meeting with other parliamentarians in the current coalition to get them on his side.
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Bennett was taken completely by surprise by Silman’s announcement, which is prominent in right-wing Israeli politics. His attempts to reach her by phone afterwards came to nothing. She is leaving the coalition because “some partners are not willing to make compromises,” she later informed the astonished prime minister.
The former head of government is meeting with other parliamentarians in the current coalition to win them over.
(Photo: action press)
In doing so, the religious politician alluded to an incidental dispute with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz from the left-wing Meretz party. He wants to allow leavened food (chametz) to be brought into hospitals for the first time in years during the upcoming Passover festival. For Silman, this is tantamount to religious outrage. It is time, she says, to form a “national, Jewish and Zionist government.” She will no longer support the “damage to Jewish identity” in Israel, she justified her upcoming change of party.
During the eight-day Passover festival, food that does not comply with Jewish religious regulations has not been allowed to be brought into clinics. The decision, Silman claims, shows “disregard for the religious feelings of 70 percent” of the Israeli public.
Even if Bennett’s government no longer has a majority, it will remain in office until further notice. But she can only manage, not create, because she lacks Silman’s voice. The opposition will impose a vote of no confidence after each coalition bill that fails. She wants to bring down Bennett’s government “soon” (Likud) in order to force new elections.
But the opposition will have to be patient. Parliament is on a break until May 8th. Only then could the opposition initiate a vote of no confidence in the government. In a few months, “maybe even sooner”, it could be so far, says a political observer. Once another member of the coalition leaves the government, the government would be unlikely to survive a no-confidence vote, which would require new elections.
The next defector from Bennett’s party is already being traded
However, the next major test for Bennett’s government could not come until March 2023, when it will have to approve the budget, says Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute. “We have returned to political crisis mode with no immediate repercussions,” he says.
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, Netanyahu’s former colleague, is being traded as the next defector from Bennett’s party. However, she has a split relationship with Netanyahu and his wife Sara. Last year, recordings became public in which she described the two as “dictators” and “tyrants” with “lust for power”. Opposition leader Netanyahu only cares about his ongoing corruption process, she added.
The heterogeneous governing coalition was formed in June last year primarily to prevent then-Prime Minister Netanyahu from forming a new government. The compromise only came about after the citizens had passed four elections over a period of two years without a clear result.
Bennett knows that in a new election he would most likely lose. According to polls, he even has to fear that he won’t get enough votes to continue to be represented in the Knesset. Therefore, he will do everything possible to bring in Likud members or to win over those Arabs who do not support his coalition. It’s about keeping the alliance together.
More: Naftali Bennett’s government surprisingly loses majority