A Study Into the Breakdown of Coalition Formation in Israel's First Knesset
Abstract
The state of Israel, at this writing, has existed for
twenty-nine years. In those twenty-nine years the ruling
government coalition has fallen eighteen times. (Arian, 1975, 31)
Three times, the fall has been so complete that the parliament,
or Knesset, of those times was unable to form a new ruling
coalition. Those three Knessets had to end their terms of office
early and hold elections for a new Knesset.
Three political parties have been in nearly every coalition
that has ever been formed in the government of Israel. The first
of these is Mapai, a party that prided itself on being secular
in the sense of religious neutrality. Mapai has traditionally
been the largest party, or segment of the later Labor party, and
has been the party of the Prime Minister up until 1977. As such,
it has always been the largest and most powerful member of any
coalition.
The other two parties are political parties based ideologically
upon Orthodox Judaism. These two are called Mizrachi and haPoel
haMizrachi. They have sometimes been joined in the coalition by
two other religious parties, called Agudat Israel, and Poal'ei
Agudat Israel.
Five government coalitions have been brought to an end at
the normal end to the term of office of five of the eight Knessets.
Ten coalitions have fallen without provoking early elections.
The disagreeing factions within those coalitions were often Mapai
and the religious parties. Normally, negotiated settlements
have resulted in new coalitions out of the same Knesset.
The First Knesset, and the Second Government which fell
and took that Knesset along with it, are the subjects of this
study. The Second Government and the First Knesset were ended
by irreconcilable differences between Mapai and the religious
parties. This paper will try to answer one central question:
Why did this particular government fall? What were the factors
unique to this government which brought about the complete collapse
of coalition formation in the First Knesset?