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| - Israel's precarious coalition government took a first step towards collapse on Wednesday, as lawmakers gave a preliminary approval to a bill dissolving parliament, raising prospects of a fourth election in less than two years. The measure passed with support from the Blue and White party led by Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, the key partner in the coalition headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a primetime address on Tuesday, Gantz, who is also defence minister, accused Netanyahu of focusing only on his political self-interest and depriving the country of a budget during unprecedented economic strife caused by the pandemic. The opposition-sponsored bill earned 61 votes on Wednesday, with 54 voting against. But that only marks a first step and the bill must still pass several additional parliamentary readings before a new election is called. Gantz's decision to side with the opposition, at least for now, highlights the widening cracks in Israel's centre-right coalition, imperilled from the start by mistrust, infighting and public recriminations. Gantz battled Netanyahu in three consecutive inconclusive elections that did not produce a majority coalition for either leader. In his Tuesday speech, Gantz said he agreed a unity government with Netanyahu, whom he knew to be a "serial promise-breaker", because he wanted to spare Israelis "an ugly and costly" fourth election, especially as the coronavirus pandemic was accelerating. The president of the Israel Democracy think-tank, Yohanan Plesner, described Wednesday's vote as "the opening shot in the blame game" between Netanyahu and Gantz. But, Plesner cautioned, both men had a lot to lose in being perceived as the cause of a fourth vote and might play for time over the coming weeks. The Netanyahu-Gantz coalition, agreed in April, included strict power-sharing arrangements, with cabinet posts split roughly evenly between allies of both men. Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party, was to serve as prime minister for the first half of the three-year arrangement. Gantz had been due to take over as premier in November 2021 but Netanyahu's critics have always insisted he would find a way to sink the coalition before vacating the prime minister's office for Gantz. The unity deal included multiple triggers that would automatically force new elections, including a failure to pass a budget. Gantz accused Netanyahu of consistently stalling over the budget in order to keep the coalition unstable. "Netanyahu committed to pass a budget in August, and naturally did not stand by his word. He promised that it would happen in December and is not following through. Does anyone believe him anymore?" Gantz said. Gantz directly called on Netanyahu to "put a state budget forward", making clear that if he did so, new elections could be avoided. If no budget is passed this month and the coalition fails, elections could be held as early as March, but the polls could be pushed back to June depending on parliamentary manoeuvring. Netanyahu released a video shortly before Gantz spoke on Tuesday, urging him to keep the coalition together. "Now is not the time for elections," Netanyahu said. "Now is the time for unity." Beginning early next year, Netanyahu will have to attend three hearings a week for his corruption trial and, as Plesner noted, may not want to be waging a difficult campaign while stuck in court and with pandemic still raging. A later election date likely better serves Netanyahu's interests, especially if coronavirus vaccines have put Israel's battered economy on a road to recovery, Plesner said. Gantz also courts huge political risks by taking Israel back to the polls. His Blue and White coalition fractured when he decided to strike a deal with Netanyahu and Gantz's personal popularity has fallen according to a series of recent polls. His former ally turned critic, Yair Lapid of the centre-left Yesh Atid party, is now the Knesset opposition leader and would be seen by many voters as a more effective anti-Netanyahu force than Gantz in a new election. But, Plesner said, Israel currently has no centre-left candidate -- neither Lapid nor Gantz -- with poll "numbers that are fit for the premiership". bur/bs/dv
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