Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was re-elected on Monday following a parliamentary vote, but will have to be content with a fragile hold on power after recent legislative elections, which were disastrous for his party.
Ishiba took office in early October, after being elected head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), and quickly called early elections which, he hoped, would consolidate his mandate as leader of the party. government.
Instead, voters dissatisfied with recurring inflation for more than two years and frustrated for several months by a scandal of “slush funds” who had contributed to the collapse of his predecessor Fumio Kishida, inflicted on the PLD its worst result since 2009.
As a result, the archipelago could find itself in a political impasse with a Parliament without a clear majority. On the one hand, the conservative PLD and its ally, the center-right Komeito, have lost the absolute majority but nevertheless remain the largest bloc in the lower house of Parliament. On the other hand, opposition parties are deeply divided on many key issues and unable to unseat Ishiba, but remain essential to pass laws.
On Monday, Ishiba was reappointed to his post by the elected representatives of the lower house of Parliament with 221 votes, against 160 for his rival Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (PDC).
The ruling bloc will now have to deal with other blocs to hope to have its program adopted, and has requested help from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a small centrist group which has agreed to cooperate piecemeal, rather than to join the coalition.
