Netanyahu races to avoid snap election, with no boost in polls from Iran war

One way to force snap elections would be to let parliament fail to pass the budget by March 31, which under Israeli law would trigger a vote within 90 days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is racing to pass a state budget and stave off early elections he would likely lose, with the war in Iran so far doing little to improve his standing in the polls.

In the war’s first days, Netanyahu’s camp saw a chance for his right-wing coalition to capitalize on the opening salvo that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by holding elections ahead of an expected October date, a source familiar with Netanyahu’s political strategy said.

One way to force snap elections would be to let parliament fail to pass the budget by March 31, which under Israeli law would trigger a vote within 90 days. As U.S.-Israeli strikes killed a host of top Iranian figures, some of Netanyahu’s confidants publicly floated the idea of a June vote.

But nearly four weeks into a war that has so far failed to achieve a stated objective of toppling Iran’s clerical rulers, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister is looking to stave off early elections, three members of his government told Reuters.

That effort to avoid an early contest has included allocating funds to political allies to secure a majority vote for the budget in parliament, and rushing it through the chamber’s Finance Committee to meet next week’s deadline.

Netanyahu’s political spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

In public remarks since 2023, Netanyahu has consistently rejected calls to bring elections forward at a time of war.

“I hope the government fulfills its term … meaning elections in September or October,” Netanyahu told reporters on March 12, saying that he had appealed to allies to be responsible at a time of war and pass the defense-heavy US$225 billion budget.