Binyamin Netanyahu suffers setback as centrists gain ground in Israel election
Results give narrowest of victories to the prime minister's rightwing-religious block
-
Harriet Sherwood in Tel Aviv
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 January 2013 07.45 GMT
Binyamin Netanyahu suffered a major setback in Israel's
general election as results gave the narrowest of victories for the
rightwing-religious block and a surprisingly strong showing for a new
centrist party formed last year, forcing the prime minister to say he
will seek a broad coalition to govern Israel.
Right
wing and allied Orthodox religious parties won half the seats in the
Israeli parliament, presenting Netanyahu with a tough political
challenge to put together a stable coalition.
Netanyahu
remains on course to continue as prime minister, as his rightwing
electoral alliance, Likud-Beiteinu, is the biggest party after winning
31 of 120 seats in the next parliament. But it was a sharp drop from the
present combined total of 42 for the two parties.
Yesh
Atid, a new centrist party led by the former television personality
Yair Lapid, won 19 seats. It concentrated its election campaign on
socio-economic issues and removing the exemption for military service
for ultra-orthodox Jews.
Netanyahu
called Lapid, whose unexpected success hands him a pivotal role in
coalition negotiations, as the final results came in to discuss a
potential government.
Likud officials quoted the Israeli prime minister as telling Lapid: "We have the opportunity to do great things together".
But
Netanyahu was also putting out feelers to ultra-Orthodox parties which
could prove vital in putting together a government, saying he would open
coalition talks with them on Thursday.
Final
results could shift, although not dramatically, later in the week after
votes from serving members of the military are counted.
Two
out of three Israelis voted in Tuesday's election, a slightly higher
proportion than in the previous two elections, surprising observers who
had predicted a fall in turnout.
In
a speech at his election headquarters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said: "I
believe the election results are an opportunity to make changes that the
citizens of Israel are hoping for and that will serve all of Israel's
citizens. I intend on leading these changes, and to this end we must
form as wide a coalition as possible, and I have already begun talks to
that end this evening."
Lapid
told campaign workers in Tel Aviv: "We must now … find the way to work
together to find real solutions for real people. I call on the leaders
of the political establishment to work with me together, to the best
they can, to form as broad a government as possible that will contain in
it the moderate forces from the left and right, the right and left, so
that we will truly be able to bring about real change."
Dov
Lipman, who won a seat for Yesh Atid, said: "This is a very clear
statement that the people of Israel want to see a different direction.
We will get the country back on track."
Labour
was the third largest party, with 15 seats. Party leader Shelly
Yachimovich said in a statement: "There is no doubt we are watching a
political drama unfold before our eyes … There is a high chance of a
dramatic change, and of the end of the Netanyahu coalition." She said
she intended to attempt to "form a coalition on an economic-social basis
that will also push the peace process forward." It seems unlikely
Yachimovich could present a credible alternative to Netanyahu's claim to
the premiership.
Erel
Margalit of Labour said the results indicated "a protest vote against
Netanyahu" and that the huge social justice protests that swept Israel
18 months ago "were not a fringe phenomena. Perhaps some of it is moving
from the streets into the political arena".
The
ultra-nationalist Jewish Home, which showed strongly in opinion polls
during the campaign, was at 11 seats, the same as the ultra-orthodox
party Shas. The leftist party Meretz made an unexpectedly strong
showing, with six seats, more than doubling its current presence.
Speculation
about the composition of the next coalition government intensified as
the results came in. Israel's electoral system of proportional
representation has ensured no single party has gained an absolute
majority since the creation of the state almost 65 years ago.
Negotiations are expected to last several weeks.
As
the leader of the biggest party, Netanyahu will be first in line to
assemble a coalition. Although Netanyahu's natural partners are the
smaller rightwing and religious parties, he is likely to be keen to
include Yesh Atid and possibly Hatnua, which is led by former foreign
minister Tzipi Livni and won seven seats. However, Livni's insistence on
a return to meaningful negotiations with the Palestinians could deter
Netanyahu from inviting her join him.
Three
parties mostly supported by Israeli Arabs had 12 seats between them.
Although they are regarded as part of the left bloc in the Knesset, it
is unlikely they would be part of any coalition government.
Yehuda
Ben Meir of the Institute of National Security Studies, said: "The
story of this election is a slight move to the centre, and above all the
possibility of Netanyahu forming a coalition only with his 'natural
partners' does not exist. He is definitely going to work for a wider
coalition."
According
to Ari Shavit of the liberal newspaper Haaretz, Netanyahu had failed to
consolidate or advance his party's position. "While in the past he was
given poor cards and played them well, this time he had the best cards
and played them badly. This was a lesson in how not to run a campaign."
Kadima,
which was the biggest party in the last parliament with 28 seats, saw
its support plummet and only just crossed the threshold of votes needed
to win two seats, according to the partial results.
In
Washington, the Obama administration said it is waiting to see the make
up of the new government and its policies on peace with the
Palestinians. But the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, said there
would be no change in US policy.
"The
United States remains committed, as it has been for a long time, to
working with the parties to press for the goal of a two-state solution.
That has not changed and it will not change," he said.
END
Poll results in tabular form:
Party
|
Chairman
|
Votes
|
%
|
Seats
|
+/–
| |
832,099
|
23.25%
|
31
|
-11
| |||
507,879
|
14.19%
|
19
|
+19
| |||
409,685
|
11.45%
|
15
|
+2
| |||
316,151
|
8.83%
|
11
|
0
| |||
313,646
|
8.76%
|
11
|
+4
| |||
189,931
|
5.31%
|
7
|
+2
| |||
179,818
|
5.02%
|
6
|
+6
| |||
164,150
|
4.59%
|
6
|
+3
| |||
135,830
|
3.80%
|
5
|
+1
| |||
111,685
|
3.12%
|
4
|
0
| |||
95,312
|
2.66%
|
3
|
0
| |||
74,735
|
2.09%
|
2
|
-26
| |||
Note - The above list contains only the parties which passed the threshold.
| ||||||
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