Government collapses; 4th election in 2 years
JERUSALEM — Israel’s government collapsed Tuesday, pushing the country into yet another early election — the fourth in two years.
The Israeli Parliament dissolved itself at midnight Tuesday. The move forced a new election after weeks of infighting and paralysis in the socalled unity government, an uneasy coalition sworn in just seven months ago that paired Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party with his main rival turned partner, Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party.
Netanyahu and Gantz blamed each other for the crisis.
“I think at the current time, we should have united forces to find a way to avert these needless elections,” Netanyahu said in Parliament Tuesday.
new election must take place in three months and is scheduled for March 23.
Parliament automatically dispersed at midnight after failing to meet the legal deadline for approving a budget for 2020. Netanyahu, whose party holds the finance portfolio, had refused to present a budget, in violation of his coalition agreement with Gantz — the ostensible reason for the government breakdown.
But at the heart of the crisis lies a deep, mutual distrust between the two men and a country fundamentally split over the fate of Netanyahu, whose corruption trial is scheduled to move into an intensive, evidentiary stage in early 2021, requiring his regular presence in court. He has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing.
Analysts said that Netanyahu was gambling on another election in the hope of forming a rightwing, religious government that would grant him some kind of immunity from prosecution.
Gantz’s party, for its part, refused to back any compromise over key appointments, including for the posts of attorney general and state attorney.