Not surprisingly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to make national security as the key issue in the upcoming elections. He genuinely believes that Israeli voters will trust him more than all of his political rivals on this issue in particular. If anything, Netanyahu has always pushed the fear button to manipulate Israeli voters to vote for him. Will this tactic work this time? Let us wait.
A few days ago and in a closed-door meeting with members of the Likud’s central committee, Netanyahu made it perfectly clear that his political opponents would not be able to deal with the security challenges facing Israel. He mocked his political rivals — Isaac Herzog from Labor and Tzipi Livni from Hatnuah — describing them as unfit to run the government and contend with the security challenges in the future. He did not miss the opportunity to boast what he did in Gaza a while ago. His grandstanding show should not conceal the fact that Netanyahu is panicking.
But, is it about who is fit and who is not fit to rule? It does not have to be that way especially when Israel’s predicament is — and herein lies the crux of the matter — the inability to successfully push for peace with the Palestinians.
Tzipi Livni claims that Netanyahu had tied her hands fearing that she would succeed in making peace with the Palestinians. But again, if the situation was really as constraining as she has been telling us, then how in the world can she justify her participation in a government that only undermined her efforts?
Casting aside Livni’s claims, the fact remains that Netanyahu was never in a position to make peace even if he wanted. He has always been captive to the settlers and the extreme right. For this reason, Yoel Marcus — a leading Israeli writer from Haaretz — argued that it is time for a revolution. He argues that “booting Netanyahu from power” will be in the best interest of Israel. To many in Israel, Netanyahu has succeeded in neither economy nor security.
As the most recent opinion polls conducted by Israeli institutions reveal that a joint coalition between Herzog and Livni has an edge over Netanyahu, many in Israel seek to raise the slogan “Anyone but Bibi.” It is as if all Israel’s problems are caused by one man. As I wrote somewhere else, Israel’s dilemma in the region has to do — first and foremost — with the nature of its domestic politics. I wonder if the mere raising of such as slogan will bring peace any benefit. In fact, we have seen this movie before. If Netanyahu loses power, it will not be the first time.
But even during the term of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert — who was not seen as extreme as Netanyahu — peace did not materialize. This scenario makes one wonder if it is at all about personality.
Obviously, the mutual accusations among Israeli opponents boil down to one point: They all need to enhance their chances in the next election. It is not a secret that Livni is dreaming of becoming a prime minister in Israel. She believes that if she assumes the premiership then she will be in a position to make peace with the Palestinians and all Israeli woes will come to an end. But it is easier said than done. The agreement that Herzog and Livni have reached will undoubtedly help them in the upcoming elections. But it will not lead to forming a government to the liking of both Livni and Herzog.
If the elections were held today, Herzog may still need around another 40 Knesset seats to form a government. As Yossi Verter puts it, “assuming, of course, that the president gives him the chance to do this. A combination of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and the ultra-Orthodox parties would be tough to craft, as would any alliance between Meretz and Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, even in its newer, more moderate incarnations. Without Kahlon and Lieberman, Herzog would have no ruling coalition. Those two guys would obviously make their own demands.”
In a nutshell, it is not about who is fit to rule as much as about the domestic constrains that make the job of any prime minister as if it is an uphill battle.
