Elections in Israel

Israeli PM Netanyahu announces early elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced early parliamentary elections, as budget talk for next year collapsed with no decision reached. Netanyahu's partners have refused to accept the welfare cuts written into it.

RT,

9 October, 2012

The elections will have to take place in the next three months. According to estimates, they will most likely be held at the end of January or the beginning of February.

Netanyahu is looking to use his relatively positive approval rate and the Likud party's good standing in the polls to prevent potential rivals from strengthening their platforms. Some suggest he is also concerned about US President Barack Obama's re-election and possible diplomatic retaliation for Netanyahu's support for Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

The prospect of early elections arose after Interior Affairs Minister Eli Yishai said his Shas party would not support wide-ranging budget cuts, particularly cuts to benefits for the elderly, single-parent families and the poor.

If the Knesset fails to pass a budget for next year, ministries will head into the new year with monthly budgets equal to their original monthly allocations for 2012.