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Benjamin Netanyahu is a political veteran in Israel. In the 1990s, the then-young Likud politician, after a series of Palestinian attacks, won elections against Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres and became prime minister for three years. Later he held the position of chancellor, among other things. Since 2009, the 71-year-old has returned to the post of head of government.
But what looks like a largely uninterrupted political career looks more like a roller coaster on closer inspection. The controversial prime minister has been the target of violent protests for months and has been charged with fraud, embezzlement and bribery in three cases. And there was always turbulence in their governments as well. The parliament, the Knesset, has been elected three times since April 2019. Each time the election results were so close that a stable government could not be formed, not with Netanyahu, but also not without him. After the last elections, the national conservative prime minister and his main rival Benny Gantz of the center-right alliance Blau-Weiß agreed to work together to break the deadlock. Initially, Netanyahu should remain prime minister and Gantz should replace him in autumn 2021.
Crumbled blue and white
But the hope for an equitable partnership did not last long. According to media reports, the Likud chief made the most important decisions without help from anyone. For example, he is said to have insufficiently informed Gantz about the agreements between Israel and the Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. The politically inexperienced former military chief Gantz seems hopelessly inferior to the more astute Netanyahu in the coalition.
This has consequences for Gantz: His alliance, which was formed to replace Netanyahu, has meanwhile collapsed. Many voters resent the Gantz government with the archenemy. In the event of a new election, it is not even certain whether Blue and White will jump the 3.25 percent hurdle.
Saar confronts Netanyahu
And this new election could come now: On Tuesday night, a majority of Knesset MPs voted against a bill that postponed the deadline for adopting a budget for the current year by a week. If there is no last minute agreement, new elections will be set on Wednesday. There would be new elections on March 23. The conflict over the budget is just one of many points of contention in the coalition.
It is true that not only Gantz but also Netanyahu could face defeat in new elections. It is true that the field of the right is stronger than ever in the polls, which theoretically increases Netanyahu’s chances of being able to form a stable cabinet. But it is also fragmented as few times before. For example, Gideon Saar, a right-wing conservative Likud man, is competing against his former party leader, who is more intransigent than Netanyahu when it comes to Palestinians and who could steal votes from him. To put it mildly, the prime minister is not very popular with many competing right-wing party leaders.
The Orthodox ignore Corona
Above all, however, as elsewhere, the government’s crown policy has further intensified the already strong polarization of the population, even within the fragmented camp of the right. Even before Corona, Netanyahu’s attempts to unite the religious-Orthodox and secular-nationalist parties under the leadership of his Likud into one government often failed. The fact that the Orthodox are exempt from military service to this day while other citizens have to serve three years is a nuisance to many.
Now the traditionalists are causing trouble by ignoring strict Corona regulations. While many secular schools have been closed for months, the Orthodox keep theirs open. The fact that only ten people attend weddings and funerals can only take place in close family circles is also generally ignored – weddings and funerals with hundreds of participants are not uncommon. The climate between the secular and the orthodox is so poisoned that it is difficult to imagine how Netanyahu can unite the two camps under his leadership after the March elections.(leg)
