Israel’s governing coalition lost its majority after a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party resigned, dragging the country back into political deadlock and raising the prospects of an early election.
Bennett’s administration had been governing since June with the slimmest majority — commanding 61 of parliament’s 120 seats. The coalition’s existence was always fragile, cobbling together secular and religious factions, hawks and doves, free marketeers and social democrats, as well as an Arab party for the first time in Israeli history.
The departure of Idit Silman, who is prominent on the right-wing of Israeli politics, doesn’t bring down the government. But it makes it impossible to pass legislation without the support of rival lawmakers, potentially paralyzing policymaking. And if just one more coalition member leaves, the government would be unlikely to survive any no-confidence vote, increasing the chances of another ballot.
