Israel faces the fourth unexpected election in two years after parliament missed a Tuesday deadline to approve a budget.
Emergency elections, due to take place in March, mark the latest development in a two-year saga in Israel that has already driven voters to the polls three times as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu MORE finds himself involved in an ongoing corruption case.
Despite the shadow of the corruption allegations, Netanyahu was able to stay in power earlier this year, eventually forming a unity government with now Defense Secretary Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White Party.
The current collapse was fueled by a dispute between Netanyahu and Gantz over the national budget, which is crucial to the power-sharing agreement between them that would have ushered in Gantz’s role as prime minister in November 2021.
In any case, Netanyahu will remain in office until a new government is formed after the March elections. He headed Israel since 2009 and previously served as Prime Minister from 1996-1999.
Netanyahu has been helped by his close relationship with President Trump
Donald Trump McConnell: Senate returns Dec. 29 for possible Trump veto power., which paid substantial dividends to the Jewish state. The White House moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and helped make peace agreements with four Arab countries, helping the Prime Minister argue that his connection with Washington was key to Israel’s prosperity.
However, the prime minister will have to face a new right-wing competitor, Gideon Saar, who has defected from Netanyahu’s Likud party, and will also face anger over his handling of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. He will also be active during Biden’s new administration, which is not expected to be as automatically supportive as Trump’s White House and could undermine one of his main arguments for his reelection bid.
Both Netanyahu and Gantz expressed confidence that they would perform well in March’s game.
Netanyahu said he would win based on his “leadership and achievements” and said Likud is the only party big enough to form a coalition without leftist groups. Meanwhile, Gantz tweeted that “Netanyahu is taking us to elections for the sole purpose of not going to jail.”