Predictions: Netanyahu’s Likud leads Israel’s election Nazi photo of Italy’s new secretary of state sparks a stir

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing conservative Likud party is predicted to become the strongest force in Israel’s parliamentary elections. She won 30 to 31 of the 120 seats, according to TV predictions based on polls after Tuesday’s election. Prime Minister Jair Lapid’s Future Party came in second with 22 to 24 seats.

The predictions put the Religious Zionist Party of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir in third place with 14 to 15 seats. The right-wing alliance is considered a possible kingmaker. The election commission did not expect preliminary final results for Thursday. Previous elections have shown that the picture can still shift before all the votes have been counted.

When the final official result is announced, President Izchak Herzog will decide who will be tasked with forming a government. The candidate then has four weeks to form a coalition. However, as with last year’s elections, it can take weeks or months to form a government. Netanyahu was initially tasked with forming a government but failed to forge a coalition.

The country on the Mediterranean Sea with nine million inhabitants has been in a permanent crisis for years. Recent elections often led to unclear majorities.

The current eight-party coalition led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett collapsed in June after losing its majority after just 12 months. Foreign Minister Jair Lapid then took over the position of head of government. The extremely unusual alliance was backed by right-to-left parties – for the first time, an Arab party was also in government.

The opposition leader Netanyahu, accused of corruption, wants to return to the office of prime minister. The 73-year-old has served as head of government in Israel several times, totaling more than a decade and a half. Netanyahu aims to form a far-right religious coalition that could help him pass criminal evasion legislation.

The party landscape in Israel is highly fragmented and driven by interests. Even parties from similar camps are often unable to form alliances. In addition to substantive differences, this also has to do with personal disputes. In addition, there is a low percentage threshold that must be met to enter parliament. It is 3.25 percent, in Germany it is about 5. (dab/sda/dpa)