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Netanyahu’s lesson on power limits

The leaders of HaBayit HaYehudi and Shas parties joined forces to stop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for early elections in June.
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The coalition crisis over the draft bill advanced by the ultra-Orthodox is now over and the threat of early elections averted. Indeed, only the Israeli political system could produce this kind of paradox: A popular prime minister tries to break apart the coalition of his dreams, no matter how stable it is, but his coalition partners prevent him from doing so. This dogged bout of arm-twisting between the leader and his coalition partners lasted a full week, with both sides pouring all their strength and energy in opposite directions.

The prime minister wanted to bring down his government and hold an early election, while the members of his government preferred to continue in the current constellation until the end of their term. In the end, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to recognize the limitations of power. Ministers Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Aryeh Deri may be his partners, but with the support of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and the ultra-Orthodox parties, they were able to lock Netanyahu into his own coalition and throw away the keys to his political confinement. The risk of a new election has passed for now as a compromise was reached. So did Netanyahu’s last chance to engage in costly and rushed political maneuvering before Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit decides his fate, whether to indict him for receiving bribes.

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