2020년 이스라엘 제23대 총선 결과와 정치적 함의

The Results of Israel s 23rd general election in 2020 and Its Political Implications

본 논문은 2019~20년 기간 동안 치러진 총선을 통해 나타난 선거의 주요 쟁점과 결과를 분석하고, 특히 2020년 3월 총선이 지니는 정치적 배경과 함의를 함께 알아보고자 한다. 2020년 3월 총선은 어느 선거보다 리쿠드당과 청백당 간의 정치 지지층 간의 정치 균열이 강하게 나타난 총선이었다. 그리고 그동안 비주류 정치 세력으로 평가받았던 아랍 진영이 아랍연합리스트라는 정당 연대를 형성하며 원내 제3당이 되며, 이스라엘 사회 내 아랍 공동체의 정치적 결속력을 높였다. 따라서 본 연구는 선거 평가와 함께 선거 후 향후 전망을 분석하며 과연 이번 선거가 향후 이스라엘 사회 구성체에 어떠한 의미를 가지는지에 대해서도 함께 파악하고자 한다.

The 23rd general elections of Israel in 2020 were to conclude the continuing political chaos in Israel which had sustained in the previous two elections. In the previous two general elections in May and September, 2019, the Likud and the Blue and White parties failed to form their own coalition, and eventually the coalition government was successfully launched with the agreement of the two parties for forming an unity government. To sum up these recents general elections, it was an so-called electoral war between pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu blocks for judging the long-term rule of Netanyahu s Likud government. Along with it, Israel s political and ideological rift became more serious than in any other elections of the past. Appearing as an alternative party of the Labor Party, the Blue and White Party led by the ex-chief of staff of IDF(Israel Defense Force), Benny Gantz, challenged the Likud Party by absorbing the support of the center-left of the Labor. Meanwhile, Netanyahu s Likud party attracted swing voters and pan-rightist camps into his support by enacting the Nation-State Law of the Jewish and proclaiming to annex the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and expanding Israeli sovereignty over it. As a result, in the general election in March 2020, the Likud became the largest majority in the Knesset and formed a grand coalition with the Blue and White Party. In conclusion, despite the issue of his alleged corruption scandals, Netanyahu have won a substantial victory over the strong challenge of the anti-Netanyahu blocks by forming a grand unity government joined by its largest rival party, the Bule and White Party.