At the time of this writing, it is not yet known whether Naftali Bennett has made a final decision about whether to head a government of change that will put an end to Benjamin Netanyahu’s long premiership. What he decides will apparently depend on his political partner, Ayelet Shaked, who appears to have greater reservations than he does about the whole idea of such a government. Without Shaked, his Yamina Party will not joint him. According to media reports, Bennett’s and Shaked’s decision will apparently be affirmative, but until we hear from them directly, we simply do not know.
The video can be seen on the Srugim website (item 566583). If it is watched without sound, one can see an extremely agitated Netanyahu, moving nervously with a calm blue sea and the ancient Port of Caesarea behind him. If it is watched with the sound on, one can hear an unusually hysterical Netanyahu, warning that Israel is with its back to the sea (at least he is, on the video), and a left-wing government, headed by Bennett, will endanger the Land of Israel, the State of Israel, and the army of Israel. It seems as though, at least on Friday afternoon, Netanyahu was really worried – not for the safety of the Land of Israel, the State of Israel, and the army of Israel, but for the very real prospect that within a few days he will have to depart from Balfour Street, and face his judges without the safety valves that remaining prime minister provide him with.
Netanyahu pretended not to understand why Bennett seems to be inclined at this point to prefer the option of the “government of change” to a “full right-wing government,” and chooses to ignore the fact that besides the reality that he (Netanyahu) doesn’t have a concrete alternative government to offer, Bennett, like many other members of the group that wishes to replace him, simply doesn’t trust him, and doesn’t believe a word he utters.
Because of the total objection of Bezalel Smotrich and religious Zionism to a right-wing government supported from the outside by the Arab Ra’am Party, even if Bennett were to decide to join Netanyahu, Netanyahu would still need at least two deserters from either Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope or Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party to muster a majority of 61 MKs. In his video, Netanyahu alludes to this very clearly, saying, “When Bennett says that I do not have a government, he doesn’t understand that once we shall have 59 supporters [the Likud + the ultra-Orthodox parties + religious Zionism + Yamina) another two will come.”
Where will they come from?
I expect that, sooner or later, after the current political crisis is over and someone other than Benjamin Netanyahu and his family occupy the residence on Balfour Street, some journalist or academic will go to the trouble of systematically studying all of Netanyahu’s tricks and foibles of trying to turn repeated electoral defeats into a victory – primarily by means of efforts to hunt down potential political deserters from the opposite camp.
I don’t remember a single democratic country in which anything like this ever occurred – not even Italy in the periods of its most extreme political instability. In fact, short of deserters, the only way to form a government in Israel today is with some sort of support from Ra’am and part of the United Arab List, and if that fails to materialize, there will be repeated elections until either Netanyahu finally gains an electoral victory, or the Likud decides that enough is enough.
“The Likud has the largest number of Knesset seats,” he insisted, while channel 12 presenter Rina Matzliah kept repeating, “30 is not a majority, 61 is a majority.” Bismuth simply made insulted faces in response.
But I would like to return to the content of what Netanyahu said in his video. Of course, unless we accept Netanyahu’s definition of “Left” – i.e. persons who object to his continuing to serve as prime minister, irrespective of their ideology – then one cannot but conclude that when he argues that Bennett is heading toward an “extreme Left government” he is either knowingly lying, or is in a deep state of denial. Of the 57 MKs who are designated to join the government of change (not counting the Arab MKs who are to support the government from the outside), 19 are right-wingers (Yamina, New Hope, Yisrael Beytenu) 25 are centrists (Yesh Atid, Blue and White), and 13 are left-wingers (Labor and Meretz, neither of which is “extreme Left”).
There is no chance that this government will start nationalizing industries, introduce estate taxes, relinquish territories (the relinquishment of territories requires a vote of 80 MKs in favor or a majority in a referendum), or be “softer” toward Hamas than Netanyahu has been. To say that a government that will be headed by a major, includes a former chief of staff, at least two major generals (assuming that Yair Golan from Meretz will not serve as a minister) and one colonel, will be more dangerous militarily than a government headed by a captain, includes a single major-general, and a large group of members who didn’t spend a single day in uniform, is outrageous.
If it materializes, the government of change will be a government in which no minister is under indictment or threat of indictment.
It will be a government in which the mere thought of not approving the state budget in order to avoid implementing a signed rotation agreement will be unthinkable.
It will be a government that will not threaten to destroy the state’s law enforcement agencies, but might well introduce necessary reforms in them. It will be a government that does not systematically delegitimize the opposition, and that none of its members will dare bad-mouth the opposition from the Knesset podium as Minister of the National Digital Office responsible for the Government Companies Authority and the Civil Service Commission and the Liaison between the Government and the Knesset David Amsalem regularly does.
It will be a government that does not include ministers with such ridiculous and incoherent titles. It will be the first government headed by a prime minister who wears a kippah. It will include an Arab Minister: Esawi Frej from Meretz.
If this government does not materialize, Netanyahu will serve as transition prime minister until October 2021 when fifth elections will be held, and beyond, until someone will actually manage at long last to form a government, or until sixth elections are held.