Alwaght- Six months after the new cabinet was formed by Likud and Blue and White parties to put an end to the big political crisis in the Israeli regime, the coalition between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz to share the power seems to have totally collapsed.
On Wednesday, Gantz and his fellow party members joined those in favor of dissolution of the parliament. 61 members of parliament voted in favor of the dissolution while 54 voted against the idea. This means that the Israelis have to prepare themselves for a new election, the fourth in less than two years.
Coalition government weakness and deep political crisis
The Israeli regime has been facing a deep political crisis as a result of broad division at home, to an extent that after three general elections, the Israeli leaders are unable to form a government.
The fear from nightmarish scenario of fourth snap election amid coronavirus outbreak and the extensive economic crisis pushed Netanyahu to suggest formation of a coalition government to his key rival Benny Gantz. Each of the two was agreed to serve 18 months under the “rotation deal.” But Netanyahu, whose term will end in November 2021, showed that he has not willingness to hand over the post to Gantz and actually double-crossed him, while signing the deal caused gaps in the Blue and White.
When the coalition government started work, no one of the sides showed signs of interest in maintaining the alliance for a long time. Likud and its allied right-wing spectrum accuse Gantz of putting the skids under the government policies, especially in the case of the fact-finding committee to investigate submarine purchase deal with Germany in which the opposition accuse Netanyahu of graft. Also, in the recent weeks it was revealed that Netanyahu did not inform Gantz of the normalization deals with the UAE and Bahrain and also the secret trip to Saudi Arabia to meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, all to exclusively claim credit for the foreign policy achievements.
In this situation, although Gantz party’s approval rate has plummeted in the polls, he seems to have concluded that election is inevitable and should be organized as soon as possible.
Polls predict that Likud will again emerge as the biggest party in the Knesset, but it will secure much less seats than it does now. Likud and Blue and White now hold 35 seats together, making the largest parliamentary bloc.
Gantz looks forward to holding the election in February to coincide with Netanyahu trial that is expected to be held with a large number of witnesses and lead to his collapse politically. Massive corruption and long holding the post have made removal of Netanyahu a common goal of the opposition parties.
Netanyahu struggles to escape trial
There are important evidences showing that Netanyahu is bracing for snap election. Local media said that over the past few days, he held a set of meetings with Likud parliamentary bloc members.
The move is taken by Netanyahu to evade the trial for three important corruption cases against him and his family. He is charged with bribery, power abuse, and fraud.
The sources confirmed that Netanyahu said he does not plan to approve the government’s next fiscal year budget. If the budget is not passed by December 23, according to the constitution, the parliament will automatically dissolve and election will be held within three months. The budget approval deadline was August but they agreed to extend it to late December. The talks so far went nowhere.
If the government collapses, Netanyahu will remain in his post until a new coalition is formed to pick new PM.
Gantz and other critics believe Netanyahu is ultimately hoping to see a friendlier parliament elected next year that will give him immunity from prosecution. He himself sets his heart on a new attorney general. Additionally, Netanyahu delays budget in a bid to delay election to next summer in hope of arrival of coronavirus vaccine and economic improvement.
“Netanyahu’s effort is aimed at personal survival. The only factor important in his decisions is escaping the justice,” Gantz once said.
General distrust hyper-crisis and lasting political division
But the occupied territories’ preparation for a new election and continuation of the crisis they have been grappling with over the past years comes while the failure of the government to meet the public demands amid the crippling and unyielding political clashes of the parties have rendered negative the public vision of their political leaders and cut the trust in the system.
The government has not yet approved 2021 budget. Shortage of cash supply causes economic pressures and reduced income of the citizens, while figures suggest that unemployment rate is now 20 percent as a result of the pandemic crisis.
The public’s negative view of the political leaders and people’s exhaustion with political game and back to back elections make Netanyahu and Gantz exchange accusations about responsibility for these conditions.
On the one hand Netanyahu accuses Blue and White of failure to work with the government and forming a parallel government. On the other hand, Gantz blames the drift to fourth election on Netanyahu’s repeated breach of commitments. In a televised address, Gantz said Netanyahu is the only one able to prevent a fourth election.
“We all know the truth. You know the truth,” Gantz said in the video. “If there was no trial, there would be a budget. If there was no trial, there would be a functioning government. There would be unity.”
