Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, looks as if he may just fall short of a majority in his country’s fourth election in two years. This was according to exit polls after Monday’s vote.
Exit polls showed Netanyahu’s Likud was likely to be the single biggest party in the Israeli parliament – known as the Knesset – with 31 seats in the 120-member body. Three conservative religious parties have expressed their support for Israel’s longest serving prime minister, which would leave Likud as the head of a 54-seat bloc.
The kingmaker is likely to be Yamina, an alliance of right-leaning parties led by Naftali Bennett who has previously served in the Israeli cabinet in a number of positions. His party is projected to get seven seats and if Bennett supports Netanyahu, the latter will have the support of 61 members of the Knesset, enough to govern.
Although Netanyahu is under investigation for alleged corruption, his government’s rapid securing of Covid-19 vaccines, which has allowed Israel to start returning to normal and is likely giving him a boost among voters.
Exit polls also show that 12 parties are likely to secure enough support to make it to the Knesset, reflecting the fractious world of Israeli politics.
The second biggest party is likely to be Yesh Atid, a centrist party which opposes Netanyahu.
If Yamina does support Netanyahu he will probably secure a sixth term as prime minister. Netanyahu has been prime minister for over 15 years (including a three-year term in the 1990s). David Ben-Gurion is the only other Israeli prime minister who has served in the position for longer than ten years.
[Photo: Avi Dishi/Flash90]