- Title: JERUSALEM: Interim vote count results shows narrow election win for Netanyahu
- Date: 23rd January 2013
- Summary: JERUSALEM (JANUARY 23, 201340 (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROFESSOR MENACHEM HOFNUNG, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY, READING NEWSPAPER FLOWERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MENACHEM HOFNUNG, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY SAYING: "It is an open contest right now and a lot depends on how the parties play their cards but it is going to be very interesting for the next month or so, until the coalition is formed and the possible coalition as it looks right now - the first candidates to enter the coalition are the new party of Lapid and the new party of Nafatali Bennett." INTERVIEW IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MENACHEM HOFNUNG, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY SAYING: "The most likely coalition formation is Netanyahu taking Yesh Atid with Yair Lapid and the new party of Nafatali Bennett and then he is having a solid base for a coalition with a majority - with one party on the left, one party on the right of the Likud and then he can add more parties to make the coalition more stable."
- Embargoed: 7th February 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Jerusalem
- City:
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA8J0GA39R2684V65OO0CKL6VE7
- Story Text: Analyst says interim results show Prime Minister Netanyahu likely to form right-leaning coalition with centrist, secular Yair Lapid and far-right Nafatali Bennett.
Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed victory in Israel's parliamentary election, interim vote count results showed on Wednesday (January 23), shrugging off surprise losses to centre-left challengers and vowing to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
However, Tuesday's (January 22) vote, which also disappointed religiously inspired hardliners, may deflect the premier's focus on confronting Tehran and resisting Palestinian demands as Israel's secular middle-class demanded new attention on domestic issues.
Interim vote count results showed the Israeli leader's right-wing Likud and the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu would remain the biggest bloc in the 120-member assembly, but with only 31 seats, 11 fewer than the 42 the two parties held in the last parliament.
Netanyahu said he planned to form as broad a governing coalition as possible, suggesting he would seek partners beyond his traditional ultra-nationalist and religious allies.
His first call may be to Yair Lapid, a former television anchorman whose centrist, secular party Yesh Atid (There is a Future) came from nowhere to second place with 19 seats. The once dominant Labour party led by Shelly Yachimovich was projected to take third place with 15 seats. But the former journalist has said she will not join a Netanyahu government.
Another likely coalition partner, high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennet who leads the hard-right, pro-settler Jewish Home party, was forecast to win 11 seats.
Professor Menachem Hofnung of the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University says it is an "open contest" amongst the candidates.
"A lot depends on how the parties play their cards but it is going to very interesting for the next month or so, until the coalition is formed and the possible coalition as it looks right now - the first candidates to enter the coalition are the new party of Lapid and the new party of Nafatali Bennett," he said.
The results put Netanyahu on course for a third term in office, perhaps leading a hardline coalition that would promote Jewish settlement on occupied land.
"The most likely coalition formation is Netanyahu taking Yesh Atid with Yair Lapid and the new party of Nafatali Bennett and then he is having a solid base for a coalition with a majority - with one party on the left, one party on the right of the Likud and then he can add more parties to make the coalition more stable," Hofnung added.
Official vote results will be announced on Jan. 30. After that, President Shimon Peres is likely to ask Netanyahu, as leader of the biggest bloc in parliament, to try to form a government. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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