Ariane Menage (correspondent in Jerusalem)
Binyamin Netanyahu seems on track to return to power in Israel. The former prime minister’s party, the Likud, came out on top and the conservative bloc is credited with a majority in the Israeli parliament. The official results will be known in the next few hours or even days.
In the aftermath of the legislative elections that placed his party in the lead, the former Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu seems to be getting closer to victory thanks to the far right. Even if the final results could cause surprises, the supporters of Binyamin Netanyahu exult with joy. Their champion could return to power, for the eighth time.
A very right-wing coalition
“Bibi, king of Israel”, “Bibi returns”, these songs were sung Tuesday evening at the headquarters of the leader of Likud. In the middle of the night, Benyamin Netanyahu appeared before his radiant supporters, alongside his wife. “The voice of Likud has proven itself, we are close to a great victory,” said Benyamin Netanyahu in front of his supporters.
The vote tally so far confirms the lead of the former prime minister and his religious and far-right ultranationalist allies. They would form a coalition of 62 seats out of the 120 in Parliament. This coalition could be the most right-wing known by the country: “if this scenario is confirmed, it will indeed be a coalition in which religious representation would be practically half of parliamentary representation, therefore around 30 deputies from the three religious parties”, Denis Charbit , professor of political science at the Open University of Israel, at the microphone of Europe 1.
A year after leaving power, Binyamin is Netanyahu well placed to form the next government. Nothing is decided yet. The official results will be known in the next few hours or even days.