Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to quickly pass a state budget to avoid snap elections, which polls suggest he is likely to lose. The war with Iran, while shifting political attention to the country, has so far failed to significantly improve his poll numbers.
According to sources cited by Reuters, in the early days of the war, some of Netanyahu's allies thought that the situation could be exploited to call early elections, taking advantage of the moment of high tensions with Iran and the strikes that have eliminated several important Iranian figures.
Under Israeli law, if parliament fails to pass the budget by March 31, the country automatically goes to early elections within 90 days. For this reason, the government is trying to secure a majority to pass the budget in parliament.
According to three members of the Israeli government, Netanyahu is working to avoid such a scenario, trying to secure the support of coalition allies and speeding up procedures for passing the budget in parliament's Finance Committee.
In public statements, Netanyahu has consistently opposed holding elections during wartime. “I hope the government will complete its mandate, which means elections in September or October,” he told reporters on March 12, urging allies to support the $225 billion budget, which focuses largely on defense spending.
However, polls show that the war has not significantly changed the political balance in Israel. About 40% of voters support Netanyahu's coalition with nationalist and religious parties, while about 40% support the opposition. According to political scientist Gideon Rahat of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the undecided vote so far does not appear to have shifted in favor of the Israeli prime minister.
