Israel’s Right-Wing Majority

If Israel holds elections in the year 2029, you might do well to bet on the right-wing Likud Party. Benjamin Netanyahu will probably no longer be prime minister by then—he faces an uphill battle to be prime minister a year from now, considering criminal charges are likely to be brought against him. On Wednesday morning, however, Bibi celebrated his fourth consecutive electoral victory and his fifth overall. He pulled through despite the pending criminal charges, despite a fairly unified opposition, and despite the many politicians fatigued by his tenure. The public as a whole does not appear to share that fatigue.

Israel has a multiparty system, and its elections can be inconclusive. But voters appear to have handed a clear victory to the right-wing parties that support Netanyahu, at least at the moment. Netanyahu will now move to form a coalition similar to his previous one, between his own enlarged Likud and other right-wing factions.

This summer, Netanyahu will become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, surpassing the founding leader of the