The changing nature of Israeli politics
Coalition horse-trading may threaten the Jewish state’s liberal democracy
Forming a government in Israel is always a messy affair. Thanks to the country’s extreme proportional-representation system for elections, no party has ever won an outright majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Intense haggling between the prospective prime minister and the parties wishing to join a coalition always follows an election. In the words of Yitzhak Rabin, an Israeli prime minister assassinated by a Jewish supremacist 27 years ago this week: “In every coalition there’s also some co-loathing.” His adage rings true today.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Changing the nature of democracy”
Middle East & Africa November 12th 2022
From the November 12th 2022 edition
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