Israel gets new PM - Naftali Bennett

  • Naftali Bennett was sworn in as Israel's new prime minister, after winning a confidence vote with the narrowest of margins, just 60 votes to 59. 
  • His victory ends a 12-year grip on power by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving leader. 

THE COALITION

  • Under a coalition deal, Bennett will be replaced as prime minister by centrist Yair Lapid in 2023, who will serve as Foreign Minister for the time being.
  • His party is the biggest in the coalition but he agreed to share power with Bennett to secure a parliamentary majority.
  • Benny Gantz is the defence minister.
  • The eight-party coalition has 62 MKs among themselves.

NAFTALI BENETT

  • After four elections in two years, Bennett's incoming government breaks a long political deadlock and ushers in the most diverse coalition Israel has ever seen, including the first Arab party to serve in the government. 
  • In his speech before the Knesset confidence vote, Bennett celebrated the diversity and warned of polarization within the country.
  • Bennett leads the ultranationalist Yamina (Rightwards) party that champions Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank.
  • He served in previous Netanyahu-led governments, most recently as defence minister.
  • A plan he has floated to annex much of the West Bank seems unfeasible, given his new partners. 
  • He opposes the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

  • Netanyahu, 71, the most dominant Israeli politician of his generation, pledged he would soon return to power. 
  • Israel's longest-serving leader, Netanyahu was prime minister since 2009, after a first term from 1996 to 1999. 
  • He was weakened by his repeated failure to clinch victory in the polls since 2019 and by an ongoing corruption trial, in which he has denied any wrongdoing.

FRAGILE ALLIANCE

  • The alliance includes for the first time in Israel's history a party that represents its 21% Arab minority. 
  • The coalition of left-wing, centrist, right-wing and Arab parties is likely to be fragile as there is little in common among it except for a desire to end the Netanyahu era and political impasse that led to four inconclusive elections in two years.
  •  It would be an uphill task for Mr. Bennett to keep his bloc together, especially when sensitive issues such as Jerusalem and Jewish settlements come up.

ELECTION MECHANISM

  • Israel follows a proportional representation. 
  • The minimum requirement is 3.25% of the votes.
  • Proportional representation (PR) characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body.
  • The concept applies mainly to geographical and political divisions of the electorate.
  • India follows the First-past-the-post voting system. 



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