This fellow needs to direct his work to an audience that is actually affected by what happens in Israel. I can't think of a country less connected to Australia than Israel.

The same applies to Trump bashers. Australia has some of the most appalling politicians in the world; pulling them apart is much more relevant to us than what foreign politicians are doing.

Israel gets the government it deserves! And one that's finally formalised in after election horse trading!

If it's not perfect and divided along his or that political line?

It's because proportional representation is designed to include the minorities and divergent views!

And is overseen by a weak and possibly senile, piss-weak old fart, called a president, incapable of bucking the will of a clearly corrupt despicable, elected tyrant!? 1938 being repeated in a slightly different location? Yahwol?

And he has his own version of Sturm troopers at his command? And a barmy religious right with an electoral knife to his throat!

This is how democracy is done in the Middle East?
Alan B.

It is a return to the twelve tribes of Israel all fighting amongst themselves except that Netanyahu is no Moses.

Israel is so much more democratic than Australia, but it seems that the author prefers British/Australian-type dictatorship over true democracy.

«Given the prevailing political conditions, a third election is not likely to produce significantly different results.»

Wrong. Conditions change. One imminent change for example is that in a matter of days Netanyahu will be charged, then either found guilty or acquitted. Once the outcome is known, Israel's political map will be quite different. There are also changes in the parties and what they promise to their electors. After elections, political parties must keep their promises and at the moment, keeping their combined promises, as should, creates a logical impasse, but if there are to be new elections, they can (and do) make somewhat different promises.

«What Israel needs is an overhauling of its absurd political system, which only encourages the mushrooming of small parties.»

In other words, the author doesn't like the fact of ordinary people being represented and bringing their cases to parliament.

«To begin with, Israel should raise the threshold to a minimum of five percent, which would eliminate many parties which are unable to pass the threshold.»

To the contrary: the high threshold, which used to be just 1%, is already undemocratic. Parties represent real people and real people ought to be represented. Instead of excluding small parties, the high threshold caused unrelated parties to artificially aggregate, making the true ratio of their voters arbitrary and unknown. Smaller parties are also more flexible in joining coalitions and the more parties there are, the more combinations are possible and the less the chance of an impasse.

«By fashioning Israel's electoral system along the British model, one party or the other stands a much better chance of winning an outright majority.»

Indeed, the British model stands for politicians to win - the people to lose!