Netanyahu is threatening to call early elections, which is something he would not do unless he expected to improve his position. But, I wonder if he’d actually improve his position. He’s certainly taking a ton of abuse lately, with the former heads of Shin Bet and the Mossad taking major shots at him this weekend. Not to mention, Egypt has reneged on their deal to provide natural gas. He can’t pass a budget and he seemingly cannot resolve an impasse over whether the ultra-orthodox should be compelled to serve in the military or do other national service. And then there is this:
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads Yisrael Beiteinu, Netanyahu’s biggest coalition partner, told Channel Two television over the weekend that his party will decide whether to go for early elections depending on the Knesset’s May 9 vote on legislation over drafting ultra-orthodox Jews
.
“Our obligation to the coalition is over. We have an obligation to the voters,” Lieberman said.
A poll released Friday suggests that Netanyahu’s Likud Party would fare twice as well as any other party in new elections, but would still emerge with only 31 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. It doesn’t seem like that result would change much, although it appears that the Kadima Party is poised to take a major bath.
The tally would be well ahead of Labour and the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu – a current coalition partner – which would have 15 each.
The centrist opposition Kadima, currently the largest party by a hair, with 28 seats to Likud’s 27 would shrink to 13 in early elections, it said.
It seems, for now, that Israel’s politics are hopelessly fractured. And, while Netanyahu is facing mounting skepticism, he does seem somewhat secure in his position.
