Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses jubilant supporters during his victory speech at Likud headquarters. (photo credit:REUTERS)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told jubilant Likud supporters in his victory speech early Wednesday that he would form “a strong, stable government” that would better balance “security and socioeconomic challenges.”
Netanyahu told a roaring crowd at Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv that “against all odds, we have scored a major victory for the Likud.”
“We have scored a major victory for the nationalist camp headed by Likud,” Netanyahu said. “I’m proud of the Israeli people because at the moment of truth they knew to differentiate between challenge and nonsense and they took up the challenge.”
Netanyahu vowed that his new government will work to improve on “the most important things for all of us, which genuine security and socioeconomic welfare.”
After the prime minister raised eyebrows in the latter stages of the campaign by warning of a high voter turnout among Israel’s Arabs, Netanyahu seemed to be extending an olive branch to Israel’s minorities during his speech.
“These are important things for every family, citizen, soldier, and all of Israel’s Jewish and non-Jewish citizens,” Netanyahu said. “You are all important, and you are all important to me.”
The prime minister also clearly wanted to send a message to Israelis that he has heard their concerns on economic matters, which is a departure from his typical focus on regional threats and the state of Israel’s security.
“Now we must form a strong, stable government that will know how to uphold security and socioeconomic well-being,” Netanyahu said. “We are faced with major challenges on the security and socioeconomic front. We promised to take care of cost of living and rise of housing costs, and we will do it.”
As previously reported, the nation’s longest-serving prime minister has already begun the political legwork of cobbling together a coalition, a task that was all but certain ahead of the election no matter the party with the most mandates.
“I spoke to all of the nationalist party leaders, and I called on them to join me in forming a government without delay, because reality doesn’t take a timeout,” he added. “Citizens expect us to form a responsible leadership that will work for it, and that’s what we will do.”
Meanwhile, the Zionist Union rejected the idea that the results of the exit polls show that Netanyahu will form the next coalition. Nevertheless, as the supporters of Likud headquarters shouted “Hail Bibi” triumphantly, supporters at the Zionist Union headquarters were packing it in for the night.
“The Likud continues to err. The right-wing bloc has gotten smaller,” said a Zionist statement. “Everything is open until the final results are in and we will know which parties passed the electoral threshold and what kind of government we can form. All of the spin and the commentary is too early. We have formed a negotiating team with the goal of putting together a coalition led by Herzog.”
Regardless of the actual election being a landslide, both Netanyahu and Herzog would have attempted to convince Israeli President Reuvin Rivlin, himself a Likud party member, they can bring together a strong coalition without a unity government. Rivlin has already signaled that he prefers a unity government to Netanyahu’s way, which would alone be a nationalist coalition. But it was always unclear whether he would push too hard for it if the results were even stronger-than-expected for Likud.
Aides to Rivlin said he won’t “force” a unity government on Netanyahu, but rather will “encourage” both men to form one. With the actual voting results, the unity government option has a slim chance.
