Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that he is ordering new parliamentary elections early next year, roughly eight months ahead of schedule.
Netanyahu made the announcement at a press conference, explaining that he was forced to call for the earlier-than-expected vote after his coalition failed to agree on a budget. According to the Associated Press, the prime minister said that it would be “preferable to have as short a campaign of possible” and suggested the campaign would be limited to the minimum three months.
The AP with the analysis: “[C]onditions are ripe for Netanyahu’s re-election. Riding high in opinion polls, he faces no serious challenger and could be eager to win a new term ahead of what is expected to be an economic slowdown next year.”
