Spring and flag coalitions

Spring and flag coalitions refer to the color-references of the political parties of Yisrael. In particular, a "spring" or "flag" coalition majority in the Royal Knesset or sub-national elected legislative assemblies like the District legislatures or even local city councils (especially in larger cities such as Yerushalayim) refers to a "broad" governing majority including at least three different parties, usually of ideological affinity, that form an organizing majority in the legislative body. Spring or flag coalitions are usually short-lived, lasting often only for a single term of the legislature but sometimes even less than a single term depending on the political situation (though rare).

Spring coalitions

Spring coalitions refer to the "warm colors of spring" that are associated with the major left of center parties, historically the then-dominant Constitutional Liberal Party (color gold) and its frequent left-wing third parties the Greens (their eponymous color), the Yisraeli Labor Party (the color oceanic [blue-green]), as well as other parties such as the Yisraeli Christian Association (the color pale blue). Notably, when a Con-Lib majority takes power with only one other coalition partner, it is not considered a "spring coalition."

Since the electoral collapse of the Left Bloc, including the dissolution of the formerly leading party of the left, the Constitutional Liberals, the term has begun to shift to refer to United Center Bloc coalitions on the District and local level where the Alternative for Yisrael and the Action Yisrael ally with a third or more parties to govern some sub-national assemblies.

Since the year 2000, there have been a few famous spring coalitions, including the Con-Libs' majority in the 39th Knesset (2000-2002) and at the end of the 40th Knesset (2003) (see Whirlwind Knesset of 2002). After the 40th Knesset, the Con-Libs established narrow majorities exclusively using spring coalitions throughout the 2000s and briefly in the mid-2010s.

Currently, there are UCB "spring" coalitions in power in the bicameral Central District legislature, with the District Senate seeing an AFY-AY-RCP majority and a AFY-AY-CF majority in the District Assembly, as well as in the Ashkelon City Council.

Flag coalitions

Flag coalitions refer to the Hebrew expression (in Anglic) "solid [colors] like the flag," a play on the solid, dark primary colors on the Yisraeli flag as well as a play on words that right-wing parties in Yisrael both articulate hawkish policies and are usually identified with darker shades of the color blue.

Flag coalitions are fewer in reality, as the Conservatives, especially in political eras where they are ascendant, tend to reach Knesset majorities outright or with only one other party, usually forgoing the "broad coalition" route that the the left prefers in order to keep more Cabinet positions, Knesset committee chairmanships, and public policy control in their own hands rather than force tedious negotiations with other right-wing or centrist parties unnecessarily.

In periods where the right is weaker, such as the period of 1988-2006, the Blues' short-lived Knesset majorities in the 37th and 38th Knessets (1996-2000) were entirely flag coalitions. The right-center coalition from July to December 2002 during the Whirlwind Knesset of 2002 between the Conservatives and Ariel Halevi's Independent Liberals was considered an unusual flag coalition. Historically, the Zadlec-era Conservative majority in the Knesset was a long-lived flag coalition. More recently, in the 48th Knesset (2018-2020) at the end of the Feldman presidency was a broad (and unstable) center-right flag coalition that fell apart with the Centrist Revolt at the onset of the 2020 elections, barely lasting a single two-year Knesset term.

Coalitions v. Blocs

Some political analysts have raised the idea that the term "spring and flag coalitions" are redundant, as the Right Bloc-Left Bloc dynamic is more representative of understanding how plurality majority winners build their governing coalition. However, others defend the spring/flag terminology, pointing out that the spring-flag iteration denotes times of "broad" ideological governments while any government under the Royalist Conservatives is marked as "Right Bloc" and any government under the former Constitutional Liberals were called "Left Bloc."

Thus, there will always (or at least always has been) a Right or Left Bloc government in power, while spring or flag coalitions have been fewer throughout Yisraeli political history.

See also

• Politics of Yisrael
• Royal Knesset of Yisrael
• Whirlwind Knesset of 2002
• Right Bloc-Left Bloc paradigm