India, Oct. 28 -- Benjamin Netanyahu has dominated Israeli politics for much of the past three decades, and Tuesday's election has raised the question of whether his long run at the centre of power is ending. Exit polls showed neither his bloc nor that of his rival, Gadi Eisenkot, reaching the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority, so the result is not a clear defeat for the prime minister. It is, however, a serious setback, and one that his opponents have framed as a verdict on his leadership.

The question is less whether Netanyahu has been decisively removed than whether he can still assemble the coalition he needs. That depends on arithmetic that will not be settled until the official count is complete and the coalition talks begin....