The Elections in Israel 1992

Introduction

Introduction MICHAL SHAMIR AND ASHER ARIAN I The 1992 elections have been widely seen as ushering in a new era in Israeli politics, and in many senses that depiction is accurate. Fifteen years after the defeat of 1977, and eight years after the stalemate of 1984, Labor returned to power in a dramatic manner. It was no longer necessary to share power with the Likud, as had happened after the 1984 and 1988 elections. Yitzhak Rabin returned to the prime ministry he had left in 1977, with his two principal nemeses-Yitzhak Shamir of the Likud and Shimon Peres of Laborrelegated to leader of the opposition and foreign minister, respectively, after Rabin's moment ofvictory. There was no denying the sense ofchange in the country following the victory won by Rabin's Labor Party in 1992. His party's 44 seats were far and away the largest of the Knesset's ten factions, with the defeated Likud's next at 32 (see table 1.1). Along with the left-wing Meretz (12 seats), the support of the ultraorthodox Silas (6 seats) and the backing of 5 members of Arab lists, Rabin's quickly formed government commanded a working majority in the 120-member Knesset, while Labor made efforts to coax other parties into joining. Based on this majority, Rabin's colleagues could try to implement their campaign promises to change national priorities, to be more flexible in the peace talks with Arab countries, to reduce the amount of money channeled to settlements in the territories, to restore good relations with the United States, to attend to the economy and the high rate of unemployment, to better absorb immigrants, and to prepare for future waves of immigration. It could not be predicted from the vote that the historic breakthrough with the PLO in the summer of 1993 would come about, but once it in fact occurred, it was clear that the 1992 election results had made that development possible. We wish to thank Rinat Philosof and Dorit Tene for their help in data collection. 1 > Home | TOC | Index 2 Shamir and Arian Table 1.1. Results of the 1992 Kllesset Elections % of No. of Valid Valid Knesset Votes Votes Seats Labor 906,810 34.6 44 Likud 651,229 24.9 32 Meretz 250,667 9.6 12 Tzomct 166,366 6.4 8 National Religions 129,663 5.0 6 Shas 129,347 4.9 6 United TorahJewry 86,167 3.3 4 Moledet 62,269 2.4 3 Hadash (DFPE) 62,546 2.4 3 Democratic Arab 40,788 l.6 2 Tehiya 31,957 1.2 0 Progressive List for Peace 24,181 0.9 0 New Liberal Party 16,669 0.6 0 Geulat Israel 12,851 0.5 0 Democracy and Immigration 11,697 0.4 0 Pensioners 8,327 0.3 0 Mortgage Victims 5,962 0.2 0 Pikanti 3,750 0.1 0 Torah and Land 3,708 0.1 0 On Wheels 3,355 0.1 0 Women 2,886 0.1 0 Hope 2,053 . 0 Law of Nature 1,734 . 0 Tali 1,336 - 0 Zipor 523 - 0 TOTAL 2,616,841 99.6b 120 Source: Central Bureau of Statistics. The participation rate was 77.4 percent. There were 3,409,015 eligible voters, of whom 2,637,943 actually voted. 21,102 votes were not valid. • Less than 0.1 percent of the vote. b The total is less than 100 percent due to rounding. After fifteen years of drift to the right, sometimes stalemated by political paralysis, the election was indeed dramatic. Observers could point to the smooth transfer of power, highlighting the vitality of Israeli democracy. Depending on the political point of view, some were joyous while others wept. But there could be no doubt that something important had happened. Just how important would be clear later in 1993 when the agreement ofjoint > Home | TOC | Index Introduction 3 recognition between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization was signed. The 1992 reversal was the second turnover in government in the fortyfour years of Israel's political history, or in more than sixty years if one also considers the politics of the Jewish Yishuv period before independence under the British mandate. The first reversal occurred in 1977, when the dominant Labor Party, which had always won, suddenly crumbled. The second turnover in government occuned onJune 23, 1992. 1977 was a political earthquake; 1992 was nearly as dramatic. The 1992...