Eight reflections in the aftermath of the third elections
On Tuesday evening at eight o’clock the door to the prime minister’s limo opened and his personal bodyguards leaped into the Jerusalem chill. Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife walked towards the lobby of a hotel in the city, where they planned to dine at a restaurant on the top floor, which is under chareidi ownership. The reason: a celebratory dinner to mark their anniversary, and the fantastic gains that the Likud made in the election.
Already upon emerging from the car, the transformation of Netanyahu was evident. Less than twenty four hours after his triumphant victory speech in Tel Aviv, a speech that perhaps reflected the most dramatic moment in his political life – the cheerful expression had been replaced with a rather dejected look. The joy was replaced with some bitterness. It looked like the worry was starting to eat away at him.
It was hard to believe that it was just a day after the heady victory of the right wing camp. The hordes of supporters, the friends from abroad and the energetic campaigns, have now moved aside. Binyamin Netanyahu will have to deal with the result that more or less means that the mess will continue, as he finds himself in almost the same place as he was on the eve of the third elections. The numbers that flowed in from the Central Elections Committee immediately made it clear to Netanyahu what this lack of a majority means.
It came drip by drip: first, with the exit polls, there was talk of 60 mandates for the right, with a good chance of 61. Then it dipped to 59. Then, when he was already seated in the restaurant, and raised a glass to drink l’chaim, someone reported to him that the needle was moving towards the 58. However you cut the cake – the right does not have 60 mandates.
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