Netanyahu May Call Early Election Due to Controversial Law
- Details
- Published on Friday, 04 May 2012 13:17
PNN
Israeli Prime-minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce an early election this year, alongside forming a new coalition government to strengthen the party against the growing labour movement.
In an unusual move from the far right-wing Likud party, who according to opinion poles are expected to gain a majority in parliament, Netanyahu may call elections as early as September 2012, a year before his term is officially ended. According to the Guardian, the reason is due to a controversial law that exempts thousands of ultra-orthodox Jews from compulsory military service.
The “Tal law”, which is condemned by the Israeli secular population, will expire in August 2012, at which point, based on Netanyahu's decision to renew the law, he could find himself in the cross fire between secular and religious parties. Netanyahu will therefore call an election during the period in which the Tai law will be voted in the Knesset, therefore extending the vote for the law until the end of the year.
Another possibility for calling early elections, is the competition from the opposing centre left parties Labor, Kadima and Yesh Atid, who are forming a coalition that would create the largest bloc enabling them to form a government with a possibility of 40 Knesset seats.
According to Haaretz, there is now a possibility that there will be a merger between Netanyahu's Likud and right-wing party Yisrael Beiteinu as a response to the centre left bloc.
