Since its establishment, Israel has been ruled by coalition governments. In its 67 years of existence, no political party has ever had a parliamentary majority, and this situation will likely continue into the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is neither the number of votes that parties win nor even the number of Knesset members they can seat that determines the outcome, but rather who is capable of building a coalition. Following the March 17, 2015 elections, a right wing government with the addition of one centrist party is expected, even though the center-left bloc won 63 Knesset seats – a majority of the vote. The reason is embedded in Israel's political structure, whereby not every party is willing or able to sit with every other party in a coalition.
