Latest news with #governmentcrisis
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Netanyahu is in a tight spot after UTJ exits the gov't - what happens next?
The move by the six United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party members leaves Netanyahu's nationalist-religious government extremely vulnerable, with just a one-seat majority in the Knesset. One of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties has quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition in a long-running dispute over a new military conscription bill. The move by the six United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party members leaves Netanyahu's nationalist-religious government extremely vulnerable, with just a one-seat majority in the Knesset. Has Netanyahu's government collapsed? No. But it might. UTJ is allied with ultra-Orthodox coalition member Shas, which has traditionally maintained a close alignment with UTJ. If Shas quits, Netanyahu will lose his majority, and his government will struggle to function. However, UTJ's withdrawal from the coalition will only take effect 48 hours after submission of its ministers' resignation letters, which gives the prime minister some time to seek a compromise. Even if that fails, Knesset goes on summer recess at the end of July, giving Netanyahu around three months to try and resolve the crisis. A lot can happen in that time, and Netanyahu has shown extraordinary political survival skills over the years. How do Israeli governments work? Governments rarely complete a full four-year term in Israel. No single party has ever won an outright majority in an election, so governments are formed by a coalition of parties. Prime ministers have often had to contend with sectarian demands and ideological clashes within their coalitions. When divisions emerge, coalitions can quickly unravel and governments fall. Will there be an early election? Possibly. But not for several months. There are a few political paths that would lead to the ballot being brought forward. They include the Knesset voting to dissolve itself and the government failing to pass an annual budget. In no scenario would an election be immediate. Some political analysts have predicted that a ballot will likely be brought forward from the end of 2026 to early next year. How do elections work? Israel's elections are parliamentary. The 120 Knesset seats are allocated by proportional representation to national party lists, which may secure seats after passing a threshold of 3.25% of the vote. Since 2019, Israel has held five national elections. The last one, which gave Netanyahu a decisive victory, was in November 2022. Successive polls of voter intentions have shown his coalition would lose an election, were it to be held today. Coalition shape Although Netanyahu's coalition has fluctuated over the past two and a half years, with political shifts, finding replacements for UTJ to join the ranks of his government, which is comprised of right-wing and religious Jewish parties, would be extremely difficult. The opposition includes centrist, left-wing, right-wing, liberal, and conservative factions. Coalition composition Total Knesset seats: 120 Number of factions: 13 Total coalition seats: 61 Seats held by Netanyahu's Likud party: 32 Seats held by ultra-Orthodox party Shas: 11 Seats held by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party: 7 Seats held by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party: 6 Seats held by National Right party: 4 Seats held by the Noam party: 1 Will political turmoil affect the war in Gaza? This is still unclear. US-backed ceasefire talks are underway in Qatar. Israelis have become increasingly weary of the war against Hamas in Gaza, and surveys show popular support for ending it with a deal that will bring back remaining hostages held by the Palestinian terrorist group. Netanyahu still has enough support within his government to secure a ceasefire. However, the two far-right parties in Netanyahu's coalition—Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism—are unlikely to support ending the war entirely anytime soon. Solve the daily Crossword
Al Arabiya
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Netanyahu in tight spot after party quits Israeli coalition
One of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties has quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition in a long-running dispute over a new military conscription bill. The move by the six United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party members leaves Netanyahu's nationalist-religious government extremely vulnerable with just a one-seat majority in the Knesset. Has Netanyahu's government collapsed? No. But it might. UTJ is allied with another ultra-Orthodox coalition member called Shas, which has traditionally kept in lockstep with UTJ. If Shas quits, Netanyahu will lose his majority in parliament and his government will find it hard to function. However, UTJ's withdrawal from the coalition will only go into effect 48 hours after submission of its ministers' resignation letters, which gives the prime minister some time to seek a compromise. Even if that fails, parliament goes on summer break at the end of July, giving Netanyahu around three months to try and resolve the crisis. A lot can happen in that time and Netanyahu has shown extraordinary political survival skills over the years. How do Israeli governments work? Governments rarely complete a full four-year term in Israel. No single party has ever won an outright majority in an election, so governments are formed by a coalition of parties. Prime ministers have often had to contend with sectarian demands and ideological clashes within their coalitions. When divisions emerge, coalitions can quickly unravel and governments fall. Will there be an early election? Possibly. But not for several months. There are a few political paths that would lead to the ballot being brought forward. They include parliament voting to dissolve itself and the government failing to pass an annual budget. In no scenario would an election be immediate. Some political analysts have predicted that a ballot will likely be brought forward from the end of 2026 to early next year. How do elections work? Israel's elections are parliamentary. The 120 Knesset seats are allocated by proportional representation to national party lists, which may secure seats after passing a threshold of 3.25 percent of the vote. Since 2019, Israel has held five national elections. The last one, which gave Netanyahu a decisive victory, was in November 2022. Successive polls of voter intentions have shown his coalition would lose an election, were it to be held today. Coalition shape Although Netanyahu's coalition has fluctuated over the past 2-1/2 years, with political shifts, finding replacements for UTJ to join the ranks of his government, which is made up of right-wing and religious Jewish parties, would be extremely difficult. The opposition includes centrist, left-wing, right-wing, liberal and conservative factions. Coalition composition Total Knesset seats: 120 Number of factions: 13 Total coalition seats: 61 Seats held by Netanyahu's Likud party: 32 Seats held by ultra-Orthodox party Shas: 11 Seats held by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party: 7 Seats held by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party: 6 Seats held by National Right party: 4 Seats held by Noam party: 1 Will political turmoil affect the war in Gaza? This is still unclear. US-backed ceasefire talks are underway in Qatar. Israelis have become increasingly weary of the war against Hamas in Gaza and surveys show popular support for ending it with a deal that will bring back remaining hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. Netanyahu still has enough support within his government to secure a ceasefire. However, the two far-right parties in Netanyahu's coalition - Jewish Power and Religious Zionism - are unlikely to back ending the war entirely anytime soon.
South China Morning Post
21-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Thailand's PM digs in as defections and legal challenge threaten her power
Thailand 's besieged Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra scrambled on Saturday to shore up her wobbling coalition after a leaked phone call drove defections from her government and rekindled resentments against her family, threatening to end her time in office after less than a year. Advertisement Compounding her woes, Paetongtarn is set to face a court challenge from Thai senators and planned street protests demanding her ouster. Thailand's youngest ever leader at 38 and the daughter of divisive two-time leader Thaksin Shinawatra was forced to apologise after a call with Cambodia 's former leader Hun Sen was leaked amid an increasingly tense border stand-off. In the call, Paetongtarn addressed Hun Sen as 'uncle' and appeared to criticise a senior Thai military officer, in a country where the powerful military has carried out a dozen coups and draws on a well of nationalist support. Key coalition partner Bhumjaithai has left the government over the apparent failure by the prime minister to defend Thailand's interests. Another partner in the coalition – United Thai Nation Party – is threatening to abandon the administration unless she resigns. 03:41 Thai government hangs by thread as leaked phone call shreds PM Paetongtarn's credibility Thai government hangs by thread as leaked phone call shreds PM Paetongtarn's credibility Meanwhile, a petition from the Senate has been submitted to the Constitutional Court and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to have her removed from her post over the revelations in the call.
South China Morning Post
21-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Thailand's PM digs in as defections and legal challenge threaten her power
Thailand 's besieged Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra scrambled on Saturday to shore up her wobbling coalition after a leaked phone call drove defections from her government and rekindled resentments against her family, threatening to end her time in office after less than a year. Advertisement Compounding her woes, Paethongtarn is set to face a court challenge from Thai senators and planned street protests demanding her ouster. Thailand's youngest ever leader at 38 and the daughter of divisive two-time leader Thaksin Shinawatra was forced to apologise after a call with Cambodia 's former leader Hun Sen was leaked amid an increasingly tense border stand-off. In the call, Paethongtarn addressed Hun Sen as 'uncle' and appeared to criticise a senior Thai military officer, in a country where the powerful military has carried out a dozen coups and draws on a well of nationalist support. Key coalition partner Bhumjaithai has left the government over the apparent failure by the prime minister to defend Thailand's interests. Another partner in the coalition – United Thai Nation Party – is threatening to abandon the administration unless she resigns. 03:41 Thai government hangs by thread as leaked phone call shreds PM Paetongtarn's credibility Thai government hangs by thread as leaked phone call shreds PM Paetongtarn's credibility Meanwhile, a petition from the Senate has been submitted to the Constitutional Court and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to have her removed from her post over the revelations in the call.
Malay Mail
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Leaked call fallout: Thai PM meets army commander as allies threaten to walk
BANGKOK, June 20 — Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra held make-up talks today with an army commander she criticised in a leaked phone call as she struggled to defuse a crisis threatening to topple her government. The daughter of controversial billionaire ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra and in office for less than a year, Paetongtarn is facing calls to quit or announce an election as anger flares over the call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. Her main coalition partner, the conservative Bhumjaithai party, pulled out on Wednesday, saying she had insulted the country and the army and leaving her government on the point of collapse. She suffered another blow today as reports emerged that another coalition partner was threatening to quit unless she stepped down as prime minister. The crisis has sent the Thai stock market plunging to a five-year low and comes as the kingdom struggles to fire up its sluggish economy, with US President Donald Trump's threatened trade tariffs looming. Paetongtarn, 38, visited troops in north-east Thailand today to patch things up with Lieutenant General Boonsin Padklang after she was caught disparaging him as an 'opponent' during the call with Hun Sen. Boonsin commands Thai forces along the border with Cambodia, where a long-running dispute flared into deadly clashes last month, and Paetongtarn's criticism of him drew accusations of disloyalty from right-wing nationalist critics. Paetongtarn said after their meeting that the matter was settled. 'It went very well. I've spoken to the commander and there's no longer any issue,' she told reporters. For his part, Boonsin said 'everything is normal'. Ultimatum The meeting with Boonsin followed a public apology from Paetongtarn — at a news conference flanked by military and police chiefs — yesterday as pressure on her mounted. Paetongtarn was criticised as being weak and deferential in the call with Hun Sen, a veteran politician known as a wily operator, but her comments about the army commander were potentially the most damaging to her. Thailand's armed forces have long played a powerful role in the kingdom's politics and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise them. The apology and apparent reconciliation with the army commander may not be enough to save Paetongtarn's premiership. The departure of Bhumjaithai has left the government's coalition with a razor-thin majority in parliament and losing another partner would likely see it collapse. There was a glimmer of good news for Paetongtarn on Friday morning as the conservative Democrat Party pledged to stay in the coalition. However, Public broadcaster ThaiPBS reported that the United Thai Nation (UTN) party, which has 36 seats and is now the biggest party in the coalition after Pheu Thai, is considering quitting. The broadcaster said UTN was going to issue an ultimatum to Paetongtarn: either she quits as premier or they withdraw, bringing down the government. There are also suggestions of a split within UTN, but the government's majority is now so small that it could be fatal even if only half the party's MPs leave. Protest threat Paetongtarn may also be facing the prospect of street protests, as political activists involved in huge demonstrations that helped sink previous leaders linked to her family called for her to go. The activists have called for a rally in central Bangkok on Saturday and another on June 28, although it remains to be seen whether Paetongtarn will survive that long. She took office in August last year at the head of an uneasy alliance between Pheu Thai and a group of conservative, pro-military parties whose members have spent much of the past 20 years battling against her father. Thaksin, twice elected PM, was thrown out in a military coup in 2006 and the bitter tussle between the conservative, royalist establishment and the political movement he founded has dominated Thai politics throughout that time. Hun Sen, Cambodia's longtime ruler who stepped down in 2023 and had close ties with Thaksin, said today that the row over the leaked call had 'shattered' more than '30 years of heartfelt bonds between our two families'. — AFP
