ISRAEL: Less than a week before election, Israeli incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu appeals to the undecided vote

Record ID: 346729

  • Title: ISRAEL: Less than a week before election, Israeli incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu appeals to the undecided vote
  • Date: 17th January 2013
  • Summary: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (JANUARY 17, 2012) (REUTERS) SENIOR RULING LIKUD PARTY MEMBERS SEATED AT PARTY HEADQUARTERS, CALLING POTENTIAL VOTERS FINANCE MINISTER YUVAL STEINITZ (LEFT) AND VICE PRIME MINISTER SILVAN SHALOM SPEAKING ON THE PHONE CLOSE OF SHALOM TALKING ON THE PHONE EDUCATION MINISTER GIDEON SAAR SPEAKING ON THE PHONE WITH POTENTIAL VOTERS ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAM
  • Embargoed: 1st February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABB8WE3ULDEAYRW57JEOO3492T
  • Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Likud ministers telephoned potential voters on Thursday (January 17) in a bid to woo undecided voters ahead of a January 22 poll.
    Conservative Netanyahu, who joined forces with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's far-right Israel Beiteinu party, urged voters to support their joint-ticket slate, dubbed Likud-Beiteinu and vote for the party, which according to recent opinion polls is likely to take between 32 and 37 of the legislature's 120 seats.
    "This country cannot be led by a small ruling party. It can only be led by a large ruling party and a split in the vote is the mother of all sins. We need to unite forces in order to have a strong, unique and determined country to confront all challenges - political, security, economic and social - and this can be only be achieved by a big party, and there is only one (party), and there is only one ballot," Netanyahu said from the Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv.
    Netanyahu had angered many Likud party faithful with a surprise announcement in October of the merger with Lieberman's ultra-nationalist party.
    Pollsters forecast the election will be won by the joint party. But the relatively low threshold for entering the 120 seats in the single-chamber Knesset allows even the smallest parties to join the race and hope to gain some political power.
    Since Israel's founding in 1948, no one party has ever won a majority in a parliamentary election and Tuesday's ballot could be followed by weeks of coalition-building negotiations.
    According to the polls, Likud-Yisrael Beitenu, along with other right-wing and religious parties - Netanyahu's traditional coalition partners - will control some 67 seats, compared with only about 40 for any center-left bloc.
    That would give Netanyahu a narrow but relatively strong majority in the assembly.
    However, such a coalition might have an image problem abroad, containing uncompromising elements such as the Jewish Home party, which is set to take up to 15 seats and is adamantly opposed to the creation of any Palestinian state.
    ENDS
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