Netanyahu’s bid for Israeli government majority slips away

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political and legal peril increased Wednesday, as a completed parliamentary election vote tally affirmed his party as the country’s largest, but left his right-wing bloc without the majority it would need to govern.

Less than two weeks before he goes on trial on corruption charges, the 70year-old prime minister saw fluctuations in the vote count from Monday’s election shrink the strength of his religiousnationalist coalition to three seats fewer than the 61 required for a governing majority.

As opponents sought to deny him a mandate to form a government, an angry Netanyahu accused his chief rival Benny Gantz, a former army chief of staff, of trying to “steal the election.”

With 100% of the regular ballots counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party had 36 seats, compared to 33 for Gantz’ Blue and White party, according to Wednesday’s tally. That was viewed as a devastating setback for the 60-yearold retired general, who had campaigned hard on a platform of Netanyahu’s unfitness to serve.

But the first-place finish for Netanyahu’s party proved no guarantee of success. In the tally released Wednesday, the seat count for the prime minister’s coalition — which initial exit polls had put as high as 60, the cusp of an overall victory — slipped back to 58, three short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament.

That count will not be officially ratified until next week. But it leaves Netanyahu dangerously exposed heading into his March 17 trial on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. He had hoped to shore up his position with a solid election win, then use the powers of his office to shortcircuit his prosecution.

Even before the final tally, supporters of the prime minister — who staged a splashy celebratory rally Tuesday on the basis of early projections — sounded a drumbeat of complaints that he was being treated unfairly.

Netanyahu reacted harshly when Gantz on Wednesday proposed legislation that would prevent an indicted prime minister from continuing to serve.