Bennett becomes the prime minister of Israel, the end of the “Netanyahu era”?
■ Column
The new Israeli coalition government coming to power does not mean the complete end of the “Netanyahu era”.
According to media reports, on the evening of June 13, local time, 120 members of the Knesset voted for confidence in the new (36th) government. The leader of the United Right Alliance Naftali Bennett and the 8-party coalition government led by Future Party Chairman Yail Rapide passed the parliament with 60 votes in favor, 59 votes against, and 1 abstention. Confidence vote.
Bennett was sworn in as Israel’s 13th Prime Minister, succeeding the current Prime Minister Netanyahu. This means that Netanyahu, who has been in charge of Israeli politics for 12 years, has officially stepped down.
Netanyahu is the Israeli prime minister who has been in office for the longest time since the founding of Israel in 1948. In the past decade or so, politicians from all walks of life in Israel’s political arena have changed in general, and only Netanyahu has firmly secured the throne of “Prime Minister”. This stems from his flexible political skills. Adjusting his political strategy according to the political situation is an important reason for Netanyahu’s standing in the Israeli political arena.
But Netanyahu’s failure was precisely caused by clever political skills. On the one hand, Netanyahu’s suppression of potential competitors has instead contributed to the formation of an “anti-Netanyahu” political alliance. Since 2019, Israel has gone through four general elections. After each general election, Netanyahu has the initiative to form a cabinet, but he has never succeeded. The reason is that Netanyahu cannot get the support of all right-wing parties.
On the other hand, Netanyahu’s use of political collaborators makes it difficult for potential political allies to trust. For example, in 2020, the Likud Group led by Netanyahu and the “Blue and White Alliance” of the middle-wing political party led by Benny Ganz will form a ruling coalition.
According to the ruling agreement, Netanyahu will serve as prime minister until November 2021, and Ganz will serve as prime minister after November 2021. However, Netanyahu deliberately alienated and excluded Ganz in many domestic and foreign measures, resulting in extreme dissatisfaction within the “Blue and White Alliance.” Gantz did not wait for his “prime minister’s moment” when the Israeli coalition government had already declared its dissolution.
But the new Israeli coalition government coming to power does not mean the complete end of the “Netanyahu era”. On the one hand, Netanyahu will continue to be active in the Israeli political arena as the leader of the “largest opposition party.”
On the other hand, there are greater crises and differences lurking within the new Israeli coalition government. It is composed of eight political parties, and the biggest reason for the cooperation of these eight parties is the “anti-Netanyahu” stance that they hold together. However, the eight political parties straddle Israel’s left, center, and right wing, and their political principles and ideas are very different. They only occupy 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, and their ruling position is very weak.
Netanyahu’s success stems from his personal charm and political skills. But too unique personal charm and political skills have also torn apart Israeli politics and alienated potential partners. Whether the new Israeli government can be in power for a long time is still uncertain. Perhaps Netanyahu will make a comeback.
□Wang Jin (Researcher of Chahar Society, Researcher of Syrian Research Center of Northwest University)
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