The opposition missed its last chance, and for them, this Pesach will be all maror
Photo: Flash90
Who would have thought that a year and a half after the worst massacre in the history of the state, Prime Minister Netanyahu would be stronger than ever, having torpedoed the opposition’s last chance to bring down his government? This rhetorical question has an answer — the only one who kept the faith was Netanyahu himself. Now, he’ll likely be able to dissolve the government and go to elections at a time convenient for him — and only for him.
In Israel, the passing of the state budget represents a unique opportunity for the opposition. If they can prevent it from passing by the end of March, the government collapses automatically. This year, the opposition’s outlook was fantastic at the start, with Ben-Gvir outside the government and Agudas Yisrael chair Yitzchak Goldknopf threatening to resign and vote against the budget unless a draft law was passed.
The strongest cards were held by someone who’s not even in the Knesset — the prime minister of public opinion polls, Naftali Bennett. His position as a non-incumbent put him in pole position to undermine the Likud and woo its MKs across the political divide.
The reason for this is simple — like the grounds for Ronen Bar’s dismissal. Per Israeli election law, an MK who’s been declared a defector by his party is ineligible to run in the next election with any other party that was represented in the outgoing Knesset. The legislation is designed to prevent vote theft, whereby the opposition guarantees a coalition defector a seat in the next Knesset in exchange for toppling the government.
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