Netanyahu in Meron, Northern Israel April 30, 2021
Israel’s prime minister failed to form a government within the stipulated deadline after the legislative elections, and thus should become the leader of the opposition on Tuesday evening, May 4. This is the first setback for Netanyahu since he came to power. Netanyahu has served as Israel’s prime minister for 12 consecutive years, a record for the country.
The French newspaper “Echo” reported that Israeli politics is turning the page on Netanyahu. Netanyahu, who has held the post of prime minister continuously since 2009, will become the country’s opposition leader starting Tuesday at midnight. In the legislative elections held in March this year, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud bloc won the first number of seats, and the Israeli prime minister then accepted the president’s mandate to form a cabinet, which he was supposed to complete within a set deadline. Although Netanyahu tried every possible way, every possible means, and every possible attempt, he was ultimately unsuccessful.
The Israeli prime minister has tried to persuade far-right racist parties to join a government backed by Arab parties; he has suggested rotating the prime ministership, contrary to the rules introduced in May 2020; and he has made relevant proposals to several political leaders, all of which were rejected.
Naftali Bennett, the leader of the Unite the Right (Yamina) party, once tried to accept Netanyahu’s offer, but eventually abandoned it out of fear that the Israeli prime minister would fail to keep his word.
In fact, Netanyahu has broken his promises on several occasions, leading to the current situation of a rebellion. A Shas party lawmaker, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the French media that Netanyahu had failed completely this time and that he had to leave.
In fact, the report argues: Netanyahu’s departure is in line with the wishes of thousands of Israelis. For the last nine months or so, calls for Netanyahu to step down have been rising. The Israeli prime minister has been indicted on suspicion of corruption, fraud and misuse of public funds, and every Saturday evening there are demonstrations and protests in front of his residence.
However, reports indicate that Netanyahu will not give up easily and will most likely fight as a very tough opposition leader. Denis Charbit, a political science professor at the Open University of Israel, believes that Netanyahu will not quit and will wait for the new government to fall before reappearing as a savior. The expected new coalition will face difficulties: it must bring together left, center and right parties whose only common denominator is anti-Netanyahu. Such a coalition, without a unified ideological base, would eventually be paralyzed by its inability to achieve the desired major reforms.
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