JERUSALEM – Israel this month will hold its fourth election in under two years, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoping goodwill from a world-beating coronavirus vaccination campaign can finally secure him an elusive majority government.
Their coalition, which had been set to last three years, collapsed in December when Netanyahu's refusal to approve a 2021 budget forced new elections, to be held on 23 March. The 71-year-old, Israel's longest-serving premier, has also clinched historic normalisation deals with four Arab states. "Do you know how many presidents and prime ministers call Pfizer and Moderna? They don't answer. But when it's me, they take the call," Netanyahu said this week, referring to drug-makers with approved vaccines.
Seeking credit, Netanyahu has repeatedly visited vaccination centres and adopted the phrase "Vaccine Nation", a play on the "Start-up Nation" tag Israel acquired because of its burgeoning high-tech sector.His political allies, ultra-Orthodox Jews, have flouted restrictions -- often with a muted police response -- fuelling transmission while many others were following the rules.As the vaccine edges Israel out of the pandemic, its political landscape is shifting.
And a former prominent member of Netanyahu's Likud, Gideon Saar, has formed his own party to challenge the premier and may peel away some Likud supporters.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.