Two polls suggest that the ruling coalition would lose its majority in the Knesset if elections were held now
MADRID, 28 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has held talks with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the two main opposition leaders to start “immediate” negotiations on judicial reform, after ‘Bibi’ suspended the procedures on Monday before the wave unprecedented protests and strikes in the country.
Herzog’s office has indicated that the president has requested Netanyahu, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid; and former Defense Minister Benjamin Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party; to present negotiating teams for the start of the talks.
After that, Gantz and Lapid have announced the composition of the delegations of both parties, although for the moment Netanyahu has not specified who would make up the government team, made up of a coalition of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, according to the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.
Despite Netanyahu’s announcement about a pause in proceedings in Parliament, also known as the Knesset, the government coalition has submitted its project on judicial appointments, one of the most controversial points of the reform, to a final vote this Tuesday.
On the other hand, two polls published in the last few hours by the Kan and Channel 12 television networks reveal that the coalition would lose its majority in the Knesset if the elections were held at this time.
Thus, Netanyahu’s Likud would go from 32 to 25 seats, while Yesh Atid would remain with 22, two less than now. However, Gantz’s National Unity Party would increase its support to 21 or 23 seats, well above the twelve it currently has.
Otherwise, the distribution of seats would be similar to the current one, which would cause the coalition parties — Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit — to be left with between 53 and 54 seats. , below the 61 needed to have a parliamentary majority.
For their part, the opponents Yesh Atid, National Unity, the Labor Party, Meretz, Yistarl Beitenu and Raam — all of them part of the coalition defeated in the elections on November 1, 2022 — could add between 61 and 62 seats, with which they would have the key to form a government if they managed to sign a new agreement.
The prime minister announced on Monday the suspension of the procedures and stressed “not being willing to accept that there is a minority of extremists who are willing to destroy our country, and drag us into civil war”, a measure applauded by the opposition, which has demanded a dialogue to agree on the reform.
Netanyahu’s statement came after a day of massive mobilizations in the country that was followed by a call for a “historic” strike by the president of the Histadrut — the Israeli trade union organization –, Arnon Bar-David , which was joined by civil servants, medical workers and other public employees.
If successful, the reform would give the government full control over the appointment of judges, including those on the Supreme Court, and would greatly limit the court’s ability to strike down legislation that violates the Constitution, while allowing Parliament to amend laws it succeeds in. annul with a simple majority of 61 of the 120 deputies.