As a prime minister under indictment, in his desperation to save his skin, Netanyahu has been a disaster for the economy
For Israelis, this past year was very neatly divided into two parts: before Purim and after. Until Purim, the focus was on the seemingly endless cycle of election campaigns. Israeli citizens went to the polls again and again without handing victory to either of the political blocs, after personal and political rifts between the parties on the right robbed that bloc of its decisive majority.
The secret of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s success in previous elections lay in forming electoral blocs that guaranteed that he would be the only person capable of forming a government. This all changed last year. Right-wing parties secured a Knesset majority again and again, but Netanyahu was unable translate it into a stable coalition. Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party that was founded on a platform of unseating Netanyahu, didn’t fare any better. The cost of three campaigns and elections that revolved to a large degree around one man — Netanyahu — mounted to billions of shekels, and a fourth round seemed almost inevitable — until the coronavirus intervened.
Although relatively few Israelis lost their lives in the so-called first wave, over a million people lost their jobs (and most have yet to regain them). The emerging crisis persuaded Netanyahu and Gantz to form a unity government, with Gantz splitting from Blue and White in order to do so. Netanyahu, the political maneuverer par excellence, had pulled off another amazing feat, but although he has seen stunning success in overcoming his human foes, his record against a viral and virulent enemy has been less than stellar.
Despite forming a coronavirus cabinet and appointing a coronavirus “czar,” the government has clearly failed to create an efficient system capable of dealing with the ongoing epidemic, and has also failed drastically in coping with its economic fallout. In the current political climate, amid his daily squabbles with the legal system, Netanyahu seems unable to formulate and adhere to effective policies, and some are beginning to doubt his resolve.
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