It was quite disheartening to learn that Benjamin Netanyahu again went wrong in performing up to his political potential. However, when we proceed to assess election results in the country, within a democratic setup and in direct contact with the prospect of contesting political parties, we might find that people of different faiths have selected democratic values over individual merit. No political party in Israel has secured a majority in this recent national election to form the government, and therefore, the future of the country once again hangs-in-the-balance.
It was obviously the third poll within a calendar year, but Likud party did not reach the target of 61 seats (which is needed to win majority coalition) in the Israeli Knesset, which has a total strength of 120 seats. It somehow contracted on a total of just 58 seats. So what if Netanyahu’s political dream got fully dashed! In such a precarious situation, he has no other immediate option but to strongly start talks on finding a party to form a coalition government with. But, there seems to be no scope of any political party extending support to him amid imprecise reasons.
To garner the support of others, Netanyahu has pursued his qualified intent of giving a halt to the smooth ride of the political party with a win of 15 seats. His vitriolic rhetoric against keeping the Palestinians from decision making in the formation of the new government is a calculated way of reaching the objective.
His conscious decision to check the escalation of Arab Palestinians in Israel’s politics can determine his future role in politics. That is why he appeared to have opted for only one solid choice of extreme verbiage against the Joint List, a political party of Israel’s Arabs. However, the question is if the Blue and White party in opposition will get ready to form an alliance with the Joint List by abandoning its racist logic of the Jewish majority, as analysts point out.
Undoubtedly, vague results have brought the country at crossroads, where its leaders have to agree to a perfect democratic path. Will they choose a road leading to equal citizenship, or democracy for Jews exclusively?