Netanyahu on brink of comeback as Israeli exit polls point to narrow majority for ex-PM
By Richard Allen Greene, CNNUpdated: Tue, 01 Nov 2022 20:34:44 GMTSource: CNNFormer Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu may scrape a narrow majority, initial election exit polls suggested Tuesday.If exi
By Richard Allen Greene, CNNUpdated: Tue, 01 Nov 2022 20:34:44 GMT
Source: CNN
Former Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu may scrape a narrow majority, initial election exit polls suggested Tuesday.
If exit polls are correct -- a big if -- Netanyahu and his political allies appear to be on pace to win a narrow majority of seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Netanyahu spent the closing weeks of the campaign barnstorming the country in a truck converted into a travelling stage encased in bulletproof glass. Pro-Netanyahu ads -- and ads depicting his opponents looking shady -- plastered the sides of buses.
It's not yet certain that Netanyahu has made a comeback, after he was outmaneuvered following last year's elections by current acting Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
At this point, only exit polls from the country's three main broadcasters have been released. They are projections based on interviews with voters on Tuesday, not official results. Official results may not be final until Wednesday or even Thursday.
Once official results are in, President Isaac Herzog will invite the politician he deems most likely to be able to form a government to open coalition negotiations.
A Netanyahu return to the head of government could spell fundamental shifts to Israeli society.
A Netanyahu government would almost certainly include the newly ascendant Jewish nationalist Religious Zionism/Jewish Power alliance, whose leaders include Itamar Ben Gvir, once convicted for inciting racism and supporting terrorism.
And Netanyahu allies have talked about making changes to the judicial system. That could put an end to Netanyahu's own corruption trial, where he has pleaded not guilty.
Netanyahu himself has been one of the main issues not only in Tuesday's election but in the four that preceded it, with voters -- and politicians -- splitting into camps based on whether they want the man universally known as Bibi in power or not.
Part of the difficulty in building a stable government over the past four elections has been that even some political parties that agree with Netanyahu on the issues refuse to work with him for personal or political reasons of their own.
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