Ahead of the parliamentary elections in Israel, which are expected to take place by the end of October at the latest, during his press conference last night, Netanyahu called on the Jewish parties in both the ruling coalition and the opposition to form a “broad-based” government after the election. However, the overwhelming majority of parties reacted negatively.

Opposition parties, regardless of their ideological stance, criticized Netanyahu and his government for their handling of the war, with particular emphasis on recent developments in Lebanon and the signing of the framework agreement. Meanwhile, on the government side, the idea of a “broad-based” government was also rejected by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, making it clear that after the election he will cooperate only with Likud and the religious parties.

What the Polls Show

According to the rolling polls that have been published over the past five months, the Israeli electorate appears undecided and does not point to a clear victory for either the current ruling coalition or the opposition parties.

A recent poll by the private Channel 12 is particularly telling, reflecting familiar periods of political deadlock on the Israeli political scene. Specifically, neither the parties of the current ruling coalition, nor the opposition parties are reported to control the “magic number” of 61 seats, which would ensure a stable majority government in the 120-member Knesset.

Arab parties hold the balance of power

As the polls of recent months have consistently shown, the steady polling performance of the 10 seats held by Arab minority parties makes them the kingmakers on the political landscape.

However, both the Jewish parties of the right-wing coalition and the Jewish opposition parties—which span a very broad ideological spectrum, from the left to the secular conservative right, have already made it clear that they will not cooperate with the Arab minority parties, nor will they seek their parliamentary support from outside the government.

Thus, polling trends in Israel—which once again demonstrate how difficult it is for the country’s average voter to switch party allegiances—point to yet another post-election deadlock.

Watch Gabriel Haritou’s report from Jerusalem on tonight’s main news broadcast on ALPHA Cyprus with Yiannis Xenophontos: