A whole host of bills are on the Knesset docket as it prepares to reconvene from recess this week, including those tackling the cost of living and conversion to Judaism. Such laws were controversial before the Knesset went on recess โ when the coalition held a razor-thin majority โ and even then they did not get final passage. So now, with no bloc having a majority, their enactment seems ever more far-fetched.ย
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The coalition's over-arching goal in this 11-week session, which commences on Monday, is to survive. Coalition leaders appreciate the difficulties that lay ahead of them when it comes to pushing through their legislative agenda. They will have to make do with the tweaks they can introduce through their ministries. The general consensus within the government is that things should be resolved before they reach the plenumย
Will a hung parliament result in the government's collapse? That's a very real possibility, but entirely not certain. Governments don't fall because of legislation, they fall because of internal disagreements between the parties that comprise it: animosities, pressures, and the general atmosphere between its members. All of these could eventually reach a boiling point and prompt the parties to declare: "Enough is enough, let's call elections."ย
The upcoming session will be dominated by haggling. When the coalition had a one-vote margin in its advantage, it was at the mercy of every one of its MKs. Now this applies to all 120 Knesset members. The Opposition will likely be courted ahead of crucial votes; coalition renegades will be under heavy pressure to fall in line; the Joint Arab List, which is technically in the opposition but opposes its agenda, will hold the key to any vote on calling new elections, making its support on many issues a high-value prize.ย
It's also going to be very interesting to watch which bills the coalition chooses to shelve to avoid the embarrassment. It is safe to say these will include the proposals on hot-button issues such as security, religion and state, and other key topics that were part of the parties' pre-election pledges.ย
Yes, the government may be able to limp through this session intact using various political deals, but it must be said that a coalition that lacks a majority and depends on four MKs that have suspended their participation in it will find it hard to explain its legitimacy.ย
If former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in power, he would have likely come under attack for "holding on to power at all costs" and running a "illegitimate government."ย
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