Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party were euphoric at their unexpectedly strong showing in Israel’s third round of elections on Monday, but by week’s end the reality has set in that the nation is still locked in the same political quagmire that has dogged the public here for the past year. But unlike the inconclusive ballot results in April and September of last year, this time Netanyahu is now under criminal indictment and a majority of Knesset members may have the leverage to use that fact to deny him another term in office.

The official results will only be released this Monday, but the outcome is already clear. Thanks to a late surge, Netanyahu bested the rival Blue & White party by a surprising margin of 36 to 33 Knesset seats. But his allies on the Right can only muster 58 votes, three short of the 61-seat majority needed to form a ruling coalition and provide him immunity from prosecution. That also means the Center/Left parties, while probably unable to forge a coalition among themselves, still have enough mandates to block Netanyahu’s path to power.