Given the constant risk Israelis face of an election, you could forgive them for suffering of apathy. Despite this, in January 2013 the highest percentage of Israeli Jews this century voted, and with a win in the polls, Netanyahu was seemingly able to retain his office. Although the man dubbed ‘King Bibi’ by Time Magazine was able to solidify his position as the country’s 2nd longest serving Prime Minister, behind only its founding father David Ben Gurion, the cut in his party’s electoral mandate show that the national feeling is turning against him.
After several high-profile indictments against politicians in recent years – including a former President and Prime Minister – the approval of politicians was at an all-time low. This feeling of discontent was coupled with popular protests, which at the time of the Occupy Movement saw a higher proportion of the population on the streets than anywhere else in the world. The electorate’s response was resounding: they were no longer satisfied. Over a third of new members of Knesset (parliament) are new, and many now populate the lists of Yesh Atid (There Is A Future) and Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home). Yesh Atid, fronted by journalist-turned-politician Yair Lapid, ensured no previous parliamentarian was on their list, which proved popular, as they became the second largest party. The attraction of Lapid was stronger than that of Naftali Bennett – a former army commando and high tech millionaire. Bennett’s party failed to match the hype after many voters were turned off by their far right politics. Much of the support for these two parties came from disenchanted supporters of Netanyahu’s Likud (Consolidation) party, which joined with the secular nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Is Our Home), as well Kadima (Forward), a party that previously was the largest in the parliament but has now all-but collapsed.
The result of this electoral jostling is a realignment of priorities in Israeli politics. For the first time in decades, the issue of the Palestinian conflict is on the backburner. While Netanyahu was preoccupied with the Iranian threat, the Israeli public instead latched onto the policies of his rivals. The Labour Party have focused on the cost of living, Habayit Hayehudi try to preserve West Bank settlements, and Yesh Atid are aiming to create an ‘equal burden’ within (Jewish) Israeli society. Lapid wishes to abolish policies that allow ultra-orthodox Jews to forgo army conscription in favour of religious learning, which is subsidised by secular Israelis. With his party’s influence slashed, Netanyahu is now tasked with balancing these interests along with his own in order to retain his place as King of Israeli politics.
However Netanyahu is in a position that is new to him. His audacious move to unify Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu cost both parties many seats, which has lost Bibi friends both inside parliament and in his party. The right has its new favourite son in Naftali Bennett, whose personality has made him a household favourite despite his lack of experience. Meanwhile, the centre-left bloc is too splintered to bring forth any challenger. Lapid not only had to compete for votes with Labour and Kadima, but also a party established by former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Meretz (Energy), a Jewish Zionist party that sits to the ideological left of the others. The Labour Party hopes to ensnare Gabi Ashkenazi, the very popular former head of the Israeli Defense Forces. During his mandatory post-retirement ‘cooling off’ period he has been very critical of Netanyahu, leaving many to hope that he will follow the path from the military to politics. The only two Prime Ministers that have emerged from Labour – Yitzchak Rabin and Ehud Barak – are predecessors of Ashkenazi, so his potential arrival has left many hopeful.
As both his political nous and support wane, King Bibi’s days are numbered. His most recent policies, such as approving the building of settlements in the E1 bloc of the West Bank, suggest that Netanyahu is searching for a tangible legacy. But while Lapid, Bennett and Ashkenazi all compete for his crown, it would be unwise to discount Bibi. He has come back from the political wilderness before, and if there is one lesson that we can take from Israeli politics, it is that no story is ever quite finished.
By Amos Schonfield