It took the leaders of Israel’s opposition only a few weeks of declining support in the opinion polls to call for an emergency meeting last Saturday at the home of Yair Lapid, the current leader of the opposition and former prime minister. In addition to Lapid, those present included key opposition figures Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan, and Avigdor Lieberman. A month before the Oct. 27 election, their meeting was aimed at shoring up a campaign that, instead of focusing on the failures of the current government and presenting a convincing alternative, had become sidetracked by internal wrangling over who should lead the next government, and who should not be part of it. Spoiler alert — it is the Arab parties.

The agreement they reached showed political maturity, albeit too close to polling day. Nevertheless, one can expect these political skirmishes to resume soon after the election results are announced. This reflects a fundamental and deep-rooted weakness in Israel’s political and electoral system, compounded by an ingrained social polarization that for decades has prevented clear and decisive results at the ballot box.

Consequently, too many politicians and parties believe they can form coalitions and maintain them for a full term, despite receiving only limited mandates from the public. In recent times, only Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to do so, but at considerable cost to the country and for much longer than might have been desirable.

No single party has ever won an absolute majority in an Israeli election — the 61 seats needed in the 120-member Knesset — and the trend has been toward........

© The Frontier Post (Editorial)