Israel/Palestine

Parliamentary structure without an executive branch combined with party fragmentation among at least 7 different factions (with another 25-30 parties scrambling for enough nationwide votes to get a Knesset seat).

England is probably the most familiar parliamentary structure we see and it’s relatively straight forward since they only have 2 substantial parties - Labor and Conservatives (Tories). So England is usually a majority government but there have been times, most recently in 2010, that the top vote party has to form a coalition government to create a government…that could be with the opposition party (usually) or with a lesser party.

In contrast, Israel has 7 primary parties with Knesset seats and another 20-25 rattling around the periphery hoping they’ve eventually get enough votes for a single seat. As a result of that fragmentation - Israel is virtually always a coalition government, a delicate balance of alliances required to hold the government together.

In a parliamentary coalition government, any one coalition party can pull a Matt Gaetz. Instead of vacating the speaker, in israel it would result in the government “falling”. Instead of 435 house members voting on a new speaker, in Israel it would result in the entire country going back to the polls and electing a new Knesset - with the top vote getting party charged with creating a new coalition government. Imagine instead of going to the polls every 2 years to elect the house - we had to go to the polls and elect a new house every time MTG or Gaetz or Gossar had a snit about something.

When Likud forms the government, Bibi has consistently looked to the right to form his coalition and this gives voice to the wackadoodles. He’s forced to give them a voice because without them, it’s new government time…but instead of our House shutting down for 435 to find a speaker, Israel effectively shuts down while 9 million people schlep out to vote 4-6 weeks later. Every time a coalition party throws a snit - about anything. And with 7 parties in the mix, along with some minor players, both sides have to reach out to the more extreme edges to get to - and then hold together - a government.

It also gives these more extreme parties substantial political power because any one of them can topple the government. The most notable version of that was Germany (80’s I think ???) when the 2 major parties split the vote 49% each and the Green Party won 2%. The Green Party effectively ruled the county for several years since major party needed them to form the government.

The combination of parliamentary plus party fragmentation makes for some strange political calculus that makes me say thank god for a strong Executive Branch.