Times of India Netanyahu earns slender victory in Israel polls The writer has posted comments on this articlePTI | Jan 23, 2013 <TMP>JERUSAIsrael's hawkish Prime Minister_Benjamin Netanyahu_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Benjamin-Netanyahu) on Wednesday won a narrow victory at the polls with his position seemingly secure for the time being but the stunning results have seen his right-wing bloc's strength severely diminished. The results have forced Netanyahu to scramble for support outside his natural allies which critics feel augurs well for _the Middle_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/The-Middle) East peace process that he shunned during his last four years at the helm of affairs. The results announced by the election committee after counting of 99.6% votes showed that the right bloc and centre-left bloc (including Arab parties) were evenly tied at 60 each in the 120-seat _Knesset_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Knesset) (Israeli parliament), figures that defied all pre-poll forecasts that had predicted a sweeping victory for the right-wing bloc. Netanyahu called for early elections some three months ago buoyed by opinion polls and sensing an easy victory but a chain of events during the campaigning period saw him struggling to retain power despite forming a joint list with former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beteinu party. The joint Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu list was able to secure a mere 31 Knesset seats, a significant drop from the 42 they together had in the previous parliament. Netanyahu gave a victory speech shortly after midnight, saying, "I'm proud to be your prime minister. I thank you for giving me a chance, for the third time, to lead the State of Israel. It is a great privilege and a great responsibility." He vowed to form as broad a coalition as possible saying that the next government would be built on principles that include reforming the contentious system of granting draft exemptions to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and the "responsible" pursuit of a "genuine peace" with the Palestinians. However, a political rookie, Yair Lapid, a former scribe who joined the political race only last year forming the Yesh Atid (There is Future) party, in a startling show has emerged the new kingmaker winning 19 Knesset seats and would play an important role in the formation of the next government. Lapid has said he would only join a government committed to sweeping economic changes and a serious push to resume peace talks with the Palestinians. He was the first one to get a call from Netanyahu after exit polls forecast a strong show by his party. The 19th Knesset has 31 seats for Likud - Beiteinu, Yesh Atid as the second biggest party with 19, Labour in third place at 15, with Shas and Bayit Yehudi at 11 seats each, the Central Elections Committee announced. Religious United Torah Judaism party won seven seats, and former foreign minister Tzipi Livni's Hatnua (The Movement) Party and Meretz received six seats each. Among the Arab parties, UAL - Taal got five, Hadash four, and Balad three. The biggest losers of the polls was the largest faction in the 18th Knesset, Kadima, which barely managed to pass the threshold winning two seats, a massive fall from 28 seats in the outgoing Knesset. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
