It is an incredibly exciting time to be in Israel. Last
November/December, the current government collapsed and new elections were
called for mid-March. With the 17th of March quickly approaching,
most Israelis have been closely following all the recent polls, campaign
videos, and candidate mishaps.
What does it mean for a government to collapse? How does
Israeli democracy work? A political theorist once explained that although the
United States and Israel both are examples of democracies, their two styles of
government could not be further apart. To begin, there are dozens upon dozens
of political parties in this tiny country the size of New Jersey. Each party
has its prioritized list of MKs (Minister of Knesset), and on Election Day
voters submit their ballot to the party of their choosing. After the ballots
are counted, each party finds outs how many Parliament seats it has received
out of the 120 available, based on the percentage of votes they receive. Whichever party receives the most seats
(often somewhere between 25-35) gets the opportunity to form a leading
coalition of different parties. So what is the current situation like?
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s most recent government collapsed due
to political rifts within his coalition. As a result, he called for new
elections in an effort to reconfigure a more effective leading majority.
However, the past few months have provided a new hope for an alternative to
Bibi, who most Israelis reluctantly support due to the lack of other options.
In December, Labor (Avodah) Party’s leader Isaac “Buji” Herzog formed a joint
party with Tzipi Livni, former head of peace negotiations with the
Palestinians. The two politicians formed the Zionist Union (Mahane Tzioni)
party, which is now directly competing with Bibi for the top post. Polls, as
they always do, continue to fluctuate with each week. As of now, Buji and Bibi
are each slated to receive somewhere around 25 seats, with other parties in the
periphery such as Yesh Atid, Jewish Home, Kulano, and the newly formed United
Arab List receiving around 10 seats. After
March 17th’s elections, the leading party will have sixty days to
form its majority coalition. These sixty days are just as important as the
actual elections as the leading party chooses who to include in the next
government.
Judging from the majority of conversations I have had with
Israelis (mostly secular), many seem to be leaning towards Herzog’s Zionist
Union. However, there is not much hope amongst these citizens that Bibi can
actually be defeated. These next five weeks will be crucial for any party in
campaigning for the 25% of Israelis who are still undecided. It will also be
interesting to watch what the Arab voter turnout is on Election Day. With the
four Arab parties joining together to form the United Arab List, it is perhaps likely
that turnout will be higher than in past elections. With some polls indicating
upwards of 11 or 12 seats, the party would be an asset, although unlikely, in
forming a Left-leaning coalition.
Check out some of the more entertaining political campaign
videos:
