Israel: Legislative elections 2013

On 22 January 2013 Israel held legislative elections, nine months ahead of schedule. They were brought forward after the government foresaw that it would fail to obtain parliamentary backing for the 2013 budget. However, the fact that prime minister called the elections in October 2012, long before the March deadline for the budget to be passed, gave rise to other interpretations. Opinion polls forecast an easy victory for the the alliance at the head of the executive formed by Likud and Israel Our Home (Yisrael Beitenu), the virtual disappearance of Kadima, the winner of the last election, and Labour's failure to again become a party capable of forming a government. Bringing the elections forward would allow Benjamin Netanyahu to change some of his cabinet members without going through a government crisis. It would also grant him another term in office for his coalition while the opposition was still weak. But above all, it would it would allow him to carry through on his promise to act firmly against the threat of a nuclear Iran.

This publication was made possible thanks to funding from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID).