Final results not in, but it looks like Bibi's coalition gained 4 seats to 59, the opposition lost 5 to 39, the middle group catering to Russians lost 1 and the Arab parties gained 2.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/I...lts-619541

The margin has shifted from 59-54 to 58-55. Netanyahu appears to have the upper hand, but forming a new government won’t be easy. The group of 7 that is not-allied with either of the 2 largest blocs can determine the outcome. Their problem is, they hate the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups allied with Netanyahu, and they also hate the Labor/Left/Arab groups allied with Gantz. But ultimately they will have to pick one or the other.

(03-04-2020 08:01 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  The margin has shifted from 59-54 to 58-55. Netanyahu appears to have the upper hand, but forming a new government won’t be easy. The group of 7 that is not-allied with either of the 2 largest blocs can determine the outcome. Their problem is, they hate the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups allied with Netanyahu, and they also hate the Labor/Left/Arab groups allied with Gantz. But ultimately they will have to pick one or the other.

And he's agreed not to force a 4th election within a year. The assumption seems to be that Gantz cannot govern with the Arab parties. The Israeli left is pretty much gone. The Arab parties can just block. So that makes it 58-40 to 7 to 15. The Russians go with Bibi or Gantz goes with Bibi or both.

Their politics does seem to have cleaned up the parties a bit. 8 parties got 5% or more. Nobody else even got 1%. The threshold for representation is 3.25%. Before they had a bunch of parties hanging around that 3.25%.

The last 3 weeks have been a very dramatic time in Israeli politics. But it looks like Gantz has deserted his election-allies and has formed a Unity government with Netanyahu. Bibi to remain as PM for 18 months. Then Gantz will replace him.

Wow.

(03-26-2020 12:06 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  The last 3 weeks have been a very dramatic time in Israeli politics. But it looks like Gantz has deserted his election-allies and has formed a Unity government with Netanyahu. Bibi to remain as PM for 18 months. Then Gantz will replace him.

Wow.

His coalition probably permanently disentegrates if he governs with the Arabs.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/netanyahu-fi...overnment/

Interesting read. His coalition was disentegrating. And the Supreme Court was getting heavy into politics while Blue & White was really stretching the law.

"...Rather than give into a shockingly overreaching judiciary, Edelstein—a former Soviet refusenik who served for years in Siberian prison and labor camps for Zionist activities before being allowed to immigrate to Israel—opted to resign, thrusting the political system into even further chaos.

Then, two members of Blue and White—Zvi Hauser and Yoaz Hendel, former members of the Likud Party and advisers to Netanyahu who sought to see him replaced—decided that their new party’s stubborn opposition to Netanyahu’s continued rule without being able to form an alternative coalition was wreaking too much havoc on the political system. The two reportedly were prepared to abandon their current party and align with Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc if Blue and White refused to form a unity alignment...."

It looks like Israeli politics will finally move into a post-Netanyahu phase, in about 10 more days. Bibi has been the PM since March 2009 and had served an additional 3 years before that. That is an epic journey, any way you slice it.

Oh-by-the-way: the guy who is probably about to become PM is even more of a right-wing hardass than Netanyahu, and is more aggressive about expanding the # of Jewish families living in the “West Bank”. But the Jewish Center/Left political parties and even some of the Arab (!) parties support him anyway, because that’s how much they hate Netanyahu.

(06-03-2021 03:17 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  It looks like Israeli politics will finally move into a post-Netanyahu phase, in about 10 more days. Bibi has been the PM since March 2009 and had served an additional 3 years before that. That is an epic journey, any way you slice it.

Oh-by-the-way: the guy who is probably about to become PM is even more of a right-wing hardass than Netanyahu, and is more aggressive about expanding the # of Jewish families living in the “West Bank”. But the Jewish Center/Left political parties and even some of the Arab (!) parties support him anyway, because that’s how much they hate Netanyahu.

LOL, they sound just like Demoncrapped. Screw the country with an SOB (Senile Old Bastard) because he's not Trump.

(06-03-2021 03:59 PM)smudge12 Wrote:  Israel and governmental stability go together like peanut butter and gasoline.

LOL... and very true.

Quote:I'd be surprised if this wide coalition lasts a long time.

12 months, tops, and probably less than that. The only thing the coalition agrees on is getting rid of Bibi. Once that is done, the knives will come out and they will all turn against each other.