Yossi Mekelberg

By : Yossi Mekelberg

No government in Israel’s recent history has completed a full term. On average they last for less than three years. Israel’s political system is never too far away from a crisis, derived from division between and within coalition parties. Increasingly, it looks like the fourth government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suffering from both these conditions and is reaching the end of its road.

The only glue presently holding this coalition government together is fear of facing the electorate and being deservedly punished at the ballot box for more than two damaging years. One of the characteristics of the present government is that it is a partnership of politicians who not only differ on issues of substance, but a number of them literally loathe each other personally and have little faith in Netanyahu.

The current coalition government is the worst Israel has experienced. It has taken the country down a dangerous path, perpetuating the conflict with the Palestinians, deepening inequalities in society, declaring war on pluralistic and democratic values, and in the process increasing tensions with the rest of the world.

All leaders reach a point where they acquire a sense of entitlement due to their privileged position, whereas the public and the rest of the political system develop fatigue and disillusionment with them. Netanyahu has reached this point, with no compunction or ability to reflect and change, while Israel is desperate for leadership.

Netanyahu has always had the sharpest survival instinct in very hostile political terrain. His populist success has relied on security and economic pillars. He worked tirelessly to obtain a macho image, standing up to all of those who threaten Israel. This played a very important part in his election successes.

At the heart of this political strategy has been overplaying the notion of a small country facing an existential threat that only he can protect. His image was complemented by free-market policies that appealed to the entrepreneurial character of Israelis, especially those who rejected the semi-socialist legacy established by the founding fathers.

But the longer he stays in power, the more apparent it becomes that he lacks a strategy to ensure Israel’s long-term security, and definitely not one that entails peace with its neighbors. Under his watch, the economy serves a very thin socioeconomic layer of society, resulting in the worst gap between rich and poor in Israel’s history.

The longer he stays in power, the more apparent it becomes that he lacks a strategy to ensure Israel’s long-term security, and definitely not one that entails peace with its neighbors.

Yossi Mekelberg

It can easily be argued that in a government comprising six parties with very little in common, the countdown to its demise starts the day it was formed. This must be even truer when the issues are as acute as the ones the current government faces. Yet this 34th government of Israel is failing its citizens every step of the way. The only reason new elections are not called is that most parties in Parliament are too afraid to face the electorate.

The current political crisis, which led Netanyahu to threaten to call for fresh elections, was triggered by his obsession with controlling the media. This is a reflection of an increasingly isolated and detached prime minister who is under police investigation for an array of corruption charges.

In a bizarre court case, he and his wife are suing a journalist who claimed his wife once kicked him out of their car during a ride on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. It is for the court to decide if this is true, but for a prime minister to sue and appear in court for something posted on Facebook indicates a worrying lack of judgment verging on paranoia.

It is not only his personal behavior and integrity that are under question. Equally important, if not more, is his constant pandering to the right-wing, religious and messianic elements in Israeli politics. There is a constant attack on freedom of speech, and a move toward an ultra-nationalist-religious agenda.

Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, for instance, was reported as planning to set up a database of Israeli citizens involved in promoting and supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel or its settlements. The education minister presses hard for the annexation of parts of the West Bank and the expansion of Jewish settlements.

The smart money should be bet on Netanyahu entering the winter of his political life. He is clinging to power because it helps him avert indictment for corruption and possible jail time. Meanwhile the government is paralyzed, ravaged by internal wrangling stirred up by a captain who has lost his moral compass and sense of purpose.

Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

Related articles across the web

• Jeremy Corbyn could be barred from Israel and West Bank under new law against boycotts
• Israel Implements Travel Ban On BDS Movement Supporters
• Netanyahu to Putin: Israel fears Iranian foothold in Syria
• Netanyahu Says He Urged White House to Pull US From UN Rights Council
• Israel briefly detains Palestinian mapper of settler growth
• Israel's defense minister says Trump warned annexing the West Bank would lead to an 'immediate crisis'
• Israeli delegation marks 25 years since embassy bombing in Argentina
• US envoy ends Mideast visit with vows to seek peace
• Kerry and Israeli, Jordanian, Egyptian leaders secretly met for peace talks a year ago: report
• Watchdog: Tunnels caught Israel off guard in 2014 Gaza war