Likud still well ahead of Zionist Union as official tally continues
Source: Jerusalem Post
With nearly 60 percent of precincts reporting before dawn on Wednesday, the Likud maintains its lead over Zionist Union.
According to official vote-counters, after tallying 57 percent of the ballots, Likud draws 24.4 percent of the vote; Zionist Union comes in second at 19 percent.
The parties that follow are Yesh Atid (8.8 percent); Joint Arab List (8.4 percent); Kulanu (7.6 percent); Bayit Yehudi (6.3 percent); Shas (6.1 percent); Yisrael Beytenu (5.6 percent); United Torah Judaism (5.2 percent); and Meretz (3.9 percent).
Eli Yishai's far-right outfit Yahad has so far attracted just three percent, insufficient for the minimum four-seat representation in parliament.
Read more: Link to sourcehttp://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Likud-still-well-ahead-of-Zionist-Union-as-official-tally-continues-394263
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yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Who is winning? Who do we want to win? Seems our elections are easier to follow. Plus it is Isreal I dont remember following them before. Is this typical?
TrollBuster9090
(5,954 posts)As every American who is living under a Republican Congress that actually got 1.5 million FEWER votes than the Democrats knows, the popular vote rarely translated directly into seats.
But unlike the USA, Israel has a plethora of political parties, and so no one party ever wins a majority. The party that got the most seats always has to form a coalition. For the last couple of decades (give or take), Netanyahu's center-right party has been able to form a coalition with various far-right crackpot/war-monger parties to form a governing coalition.
So, the election is just the first step. The second step is to watch the bartering that goes on between the various parties to form a coalition.
But this news is kind of depressing, because it suggests that Bibi will probably be able to cling to power by his fingernails, but will be more unpopular than he's ever been because of what he had to do to REMAIN in power. 1. He formed an alliance with the GOP to humiliate Obama with his speech to Congress...so he alienated the US President in order to pander to the US Congress. 2. He said he'd never allow a Palestinian State (two state solution-which both the Obama Administration, as well as moderate Arab nations favor) in order to rake in more FAR-RIGHT votes, at the expense of the moderate Israeli votes he's lost, and 3. He just came out did a racist rant about the number of Arabs who are voting in the Israeli election in order to garnish even MORE far-right crackpot votes.
Just imagine George W. Bush winning a THIRD TERM (yeah, I know....not legal...but it's an analogy)...Just imagine George W. winning a THIRD TERM in 2008 by moving even FARTHER to the right than he did in 2004, and that's pretty much the governing position Netanyahu will be in if he succeeds in clinging to power.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)So basically Bibi is winning but won't have the same "power structure" he had before?
TrollBuster9090
(5,954 posts)If he manages to form a coalition, and cling to power, he will have to be even MORE inflexible than before. No two-state solution. No lifting the blockade. Possibly more military actions in the occupied territories. More Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, which is driving the Palestinians and most of the Arab world nuts. *cringe*
former9thward
(32,025 posts)Republicans got 52% of the popular vote in 2014 in the House and Democrats 45%.
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2014/results/house
TrollBuster9090
(5,954 posts)The 2012 House elections, where the GOP to Democratic vote split 47.6% to 48.8% for the Democrats; but the seats split 51.7% to 44.9% to the Republicans. With Republicans receiving 1.4 million fewer votes than Democrats, but still managing to win 15% MORE seats than Democrats. Gerrymandering at its finest.
But yes, as for the 2014 mid-term, I guess I forgot it even happened. Not surprising, given that only about 25 people showed up to vote, in total.
forest444
(5,902 posts)As of 20 minutes ago, Likud had 24.1%; Zionist Union, 19.4%; Yesh Atid (ZU allies), 9.0%; Joint List (ZU allies), 8.7%; Kulanu (which could form an alliance with either Likud or ZU), 7.6% - and of five other parties with enough votes for representation in the Knesset, the 4 that back Likud, 22.8%; the one that backs ZU, 4%.
The unrefined total - up to now - is Likud and allies, 46.9%; ZU and allies, 41.1%; and Kulanu (the potential kingmakers), 7.6%. Therefore, this is still Netanyahu's to lose - but we shall see.
0rganism
(23,957 posts)i didn't see a clear breakdown of the pending coalitions there.
the 3rd largest vote getter, Joint List of Arab parties -- are they going to ally with ZU? seems unlikely that they'd want to join up with anything labeled "Zionist".
forest444
(5,902 posts)Joint List officials have themselves expressed their hope for a ZU win, and to be part of their governing coalition. They may, instead, remain as an independent caucus in the Knesset now these hopes were dashed.
The reasoning is fairly straightforward: the Zionist Union -their name notwithstanding- is by far the more moderate of the two major parties; and keep in mind that ZU is basically a rebranded Labor Party, which thanks largely to Shimon Peres has since the 1980s made a point of being far more tolerant and conciliatory than Likud (certainly much more so than today's genocidal Likudniks).
The Arabs the Joint List represents, as you know, are not the 3 million in the occupied territories; but rather Israeli Arabs, who as you might imagine have always been more or less scapegoated and discriminated against (especially now). This includes Muslim, Christian, and Druze Arabs, which together total about 20% of Israel's population (exc. occupied territories, of course). A Herzog administration would have been their only real chance to have a voice in Israeli governance.
Bibi had a good night yesterday, no argument there. But the 68-member coalition he had up to then, is now reduced to 57 - a substantial loss when you remember that the absolute majority in the Knesset is 61. This makes him dependent on a third party -Kulanu, 10 members - to form a government. There's some indication Kulanu will refuse because its leadership are mostly disaffected former Likudniks who only broke with Netanyahu because he's betraying Israel's long-standing tradition of economic populism (cradle-to-grave social programs, state-owned services, etc.); they're likewise more moderate on the issue of Palestine. Finally, there's the issue of election-eve chicanery on Netanyahoo's part against Kulanu's leader, Moshe Kahlon. Will Kahlon forgive and forget? Should he?
My hope is that they can talk some sense into the "Jewish Hitler," although I doubt it. We shall see.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)How can any of them possibly think keeping this bitter, life-hating zealot in power is a sane move?
Everything that was ever progressive in the Zionist tradition is now dead.
And Palestinians will be persecuted even more relentlessly and viciously.
Why? Why? Why?
It's not as if there's anything positive at all in the status quo there.
TheNutcracker
(2,104 posts)
just saying...
Dawson Leery
(19,348 posts)to cut Israel off. End all foreign aid to them.
Mosby
(16,319 posts)And it is spent on US military hardware.
840high
(17,196 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)That could buy a lot of school lunches. Or build a lot of miles of interstate highway. Or mass transit.
Who wins with this deal: Israel and the US military industrial complex.
Who loses: The rest of us.
What a racket.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)so that aid is really an offense to our values, just like sucking up to the Saudis is.
Mosby
(16,319 posts)And claiming that there is apartheid in Israel is really disrespectful to South Africans who lived under an apartheid regime.
Not that you care, just saying.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)in their Bantustans would disagree with you, in that they are living under Israeli apartheid right now.
And Israel just voted to rip off the bandage and stop pretending otherwise. Bibi explicitly promised the virulent racism and apartheid. And that is why he won.
We knew who Bibi was. Now we know what Israel is and what Israelis are.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)TrollBuster9090
(5,954 posts)It's just that Likud did WAY better than expected.
Well, not the coalition horse-trading begins, I guess.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)If he has better than expected numbers the question becomes does he want to go right wing or unity goverment.
rpannier
(24,330 posts)The Zionist Union oppose one as well
It will be interesting if both sides stick to their guns
47of74
(18,470 posts)Makes me fucking sick.
certainot
(9,090 posts)republican nightmare here and get supermajorities in congress and senate so we can stop coddling their warrior class and racists to use as our pitbull in the middle east
it will also allow us to fast track solar, wind, and other alts over fossil fuels- and that will make it all the more easy to tell the zealots to go fuck themselves
brooklynite
(94,598 posts)certainot
(9,090 posts)3 ways to do that would be to:
1) put pressure on those publicly funded universities that support rw radio by renting their sports mascots to rw talk stations to help them sell their crap. those associations bring community cred and ad dollars. as soon as one or more schools decides to start honoring their missions statements instead of crapping on them and declare they will not renew their current agreements and will look for apolitical alts others will be shamed into following and most if not all of those stations, when presented with that future, will probably have to change formats or die. many of their advertisers would leave them merely at the prospect of the bad publicity. the rw radio monopoly is already in debt for tens of billions (clearchannel- 25 bil). anyone who thinks rw radio doesn't matter should wonder why the right continues to subsidize it to billions. about 270 limbaugh stations depend on 90 unis and colleges.
2) modern software makes it possible to automate recording and transcription of streaming talk stations around the country on the state or national level. the dem party and or any dem candidate should be doing that. check in on your local blowhards and you'll find republican politicians and their think tank hack allies getting regular friendly segments on those stations to attack their proponents and lie about issues.
3) any major issue can be protested at those radio stations, or the universities that support them.
ignoring talk radio has been the biggest political mistake in history considering the time lost on global warming
Little Tich
(6,171 posts)Israel will not stay Jewish and Democratic for long if he remains in power.
This could well be the day Israel became an apartheid state.
fingrin
(120 posts)This is just fcuking depressing. Im all for the safety and security of the Jewish people BUT if sharing the land was agreeable in 1947 then it should be the same now. Bibi by rejecting the 2 state solution is in effect saying fcuk you to the world, we want it all.
A man without Honor or integrity. Discusting.