Israel's midsized parties create unstable coalition
Ever since the late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to create the Kadima Party, Israeli politics has been suffering from an ongoing trend of big parties splitting into small and medium-sized parties, leading to dysfunctional coalitions.
The 1992 elections were the last time an Israeli party crossed the threshold of 40 Knesset seats. It was the Labor Party, led by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which won 44 Knesset seats. The Likud Party, headed by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, received 32 seats, while Meretz, the third-largest party at the time, emerged from the elections with 12 seats.
The second Rabin government, made up of Labor, Meretz and Shas, which garnered 62 Knesset seats, was a small government. Yet, it was a homogeneous and active government with regard to Israel's diplomatic approach and socioeconomic agenda. The Oslo Accord, the massive government investment in education and transportation, as well as the advanced civil legislation — as reflected in the Basic Law, Freedom of Occupation — were all the result of the clear-cut agenda of that left-wing government.
In the 1996 elections, which were held six months after Rabin's assassination on Nov. 4, 1995, none of the parties managed to pass the threshold of 40 Knesset seats. Voters cast two ballots: one with the name of their preferred candidate for the premiership and one with that of their preferred Knesset list. However, as far as the two major parties were concerned, this system turned out to be a mistake. The citizens voted for the candidate they considered most suitable to lead the country, choosing between former President Shimon Peres of Labor and Likud’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, many cast the second ballot for another party. Labor won 34 Knesset seats, while Likud emerged with only 32 seats, even though it allied with the Gesher and Tzomet parties.
The 1999 elections saw the ongoing decline in the power of the major parties. In fact, none of them made it past the 30-seat threshold. The voting system remained the same, with the voters casting two ballots. Ehud Barak was elected prime minister. The list he headed, named “One Israel,” which was forged by an alliance of three parties — Labor, Meimad and Gesher — received only 26 Knesset seats. Likud crashed to 19 seats.
