|
Netanyahu's Likud party wins slim majority
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing party alliance have won a narrow majority in parliamentary elections. His Likud-Beteinu grouping has won 31 seats in the 120-seat parliament.The right-wing faction received the most votes in Tuesday's election, but was weakened by a strong turnout for the centrist Yesh Atid, according to television exit polls. Figures released by Israel's three main television stations showed that Netanyahu's Likud-Beteinu appeared to have 31 seats in the 120-seat Knesset - 11 fewer than the 42 they had in the previous parliament. In a victory speech, he said that preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power was to be the priority of any new government he will aim to form. "The government we build will be based on three main principles. First of all, military strength in the face of the big challenges we face. The first challenge was and remains preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons." The secular Yesh Atid followed with 18-19 seats, the center-right Labor party with 17 and the far-right religious nationalist Jewish Home with 12. Once results are finalized, Netanyahu will be on course to secure a third term in office. Despite the win, Netanyahu's party still faces the uphill battle of pulling together 61 members of parliament to form a majority coalition. Posted by: tipper 2013-01-22 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=360669 |