Gantz and Netanyahu seem slightly disappointed at the result.
Gantz and Netanyahu seem slightly disappointed at the result.
T he “emergency unity government” hashed out by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival Benny Gantz was signed just before the start of Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day, leaving no time for a planned press conference. Instead, the two men released a photograph in which each sits at a table, the coalition agreement between them. Neither looks elated.
After three national elections and over 17 months of political deadlock, Israel finally has the outline of a government, although Gantz and Netanyahu seem slightly disappointed at the result. (Technically, lawmakers must take several more procedural steps to formalize the government, with a deadline of May 7.) Why did it take so long? In part, the deadlock was caused by political fractures within both the right-wing and left-wing camps. The right could not win a parliamentary majority without small secular parties whose representatives object to Netanyahu as corrupt and resent the continued influence of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties on matters of religion and state. The Left is, in reality, less a philosophically unified movement and more a collection of parties from the secular right to the anti-Zionist left unified only by hatred of Netanyahu.
Israel’s third election, held on March 2, featured special voting booths set up for 5,600 citizens in quarantine because of possible exposure to coronavirus. On March 3, the country’s health ministry expanded self-quarantine guidelines to include tens of thousands of residents. If elections had been held just one day later, those guidelines would have seriously hampered voting logistics.
“We have to understand, we are in the midst of a global plague,” Netanyahu said at a press conference on March 4. “People are not calling it this, but it’s the truth . . . . It will be among the most dangerous [epidemics] of the past hundred years.”
The results of the election came to 58 seats for the pro-Netanyahu parties and 62 seats for the anti-Netanyahu parties led by Gantz. As Gantz attempted to form a government out of this fractured majority, Netanyahu’s caretaker government, which has been in place since late 2018, locked down the entire country in an attempt to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. Most Israelis were essentially confined to their homes and immediate surroundings, while their leaders negotiated to form a government.
Gantz then realized that his efforts would not bear fruit. For one thing, he had considered governing with the anti-Zionist Joint List of Arab-majority parties — but internal polls for his Blue and White party showed immense voter dissatisfaction at the prospect of such an alliance, in part because some current and former members of that alliance have praised terrorists. For another, Gantz appears to have been genuinely moved by the unprecedented crisis that the pandemic presented for Israel. Thus, at the height of the lockdown, he decided to abandon the opposition and join Netanyahu in a unity government.
“I am at peace because I did what my nation needs,” Gantz said in a Facebook post. “These are unusual times. Israel is in a state of emergency. Hundreds of thousands of families are hunkering down in their homes . . . . This is the time for leaders to choose what is right and put the lingering issues and personal scores aside.”
Most of Gantz’s fellows in the Blue and White party decried this move. An experienced general but novice politician, Gantz effectively broke up his own party to join with a prime minister who has been indicted for corruption. The former general cast himself as putting the good of the country ahead of his own immediate political alliances, though former party members have accused Gantz of “stealing” anti-Netanyahu votes and succumbing to political opportunism. As the Israeli journalist Amit Segal put it, “A bat was eaten in China — and in Israel, a party breaks apart.”
It took Netanyahu several more weeks to work out the agreement with Gantz. Having gained the experience of political negotiations from previous years, Netanyahu is an expert at running out the clock to see how his political options play out, and this time was no different. The prime minister attempted to gain as much control as he could over the unfolding government, ensuring he could remain in office while on trial for corruption. He may even have considered going to a fourth election; polls show that Israelis overwhelmingly approve of Netanyahu’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Ultimately, however, it seems the prospect of another election in the midst of a pandemic, with 26 percent unemployment due to enforced business closures, made sitting in a government with Gantz look like the better option.
While Gantz and Netanyahu have struck a deal to form a government, the agreement itself is laden with a veritable minefield of clauses designed to check the power of each leader. Netanyahu is scheduled to be prime minister for 18 months, at which point Gantz will take the reins for another 18 months. Crucially, the agreement states that if Israel’s Supreme Court rules that Netanyahu cannot remain prime minister while on trial for corruption, Israel will immediately go to elections instead of simply replacing Netanyahu with Gantz. This clause and others are meant to give Netanyahu an added layer of legal protection, although Gantz’s faction did gain oversight of some aspects of Israel’s legal system.
These and other clauses do not bode well for the new government’s efficiency, and it may be that Israel’s political deadlock will continue even with a government.
However, with a global health and economic crisis at hand, if this government does not hold together, Israeli voters will not likely forgive whoever they believe is responsible for leading the country to yet another snap election. Netanyahu and Gantz are acutely aware of this, and it may give them both an additional impetus to hold the coalition together despite their mutual mistrust. (A poll released on Tuesday found that 62 percent of Israeli voters approve of the unity government, while just 22 percent are opposed.)
It will be interesting to watch how this government implements the annexations of chunks of the West Bank. President Trump’s Israeli–Palestinian peace plan gave Israel a diplomatic rubber stamp for the move, and Netanyahu is anxious to complete the annexations of at least some areas. However, Gantz is more cautious, concerned that annexations will harm Israel’s already strained relationship with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
It’s important to note that this is the first time since Netanyahu was elected in 2009 that any rival has made a dent in the prime minister’s hold on Israeli politics. This is not to say that the Netanyahu era is over; but out of a succession of politicians from the left and center, it is Gantz who has elbowed his way to a seat at the governing table.
The contrast between the two men is striking. Netanyahu, a former special forces commando, is patently in his element as a politician. He pays close attention to his appearance and his speech; considers close allies expendable based on political need; and always looks out for his own self-interest, which his enemies charge comes at the expense of the state of Israel but which his supporters see as highly compatible with Israel’s interests. He also manifestly enjoys the high life.
Gantz, on the other hand, rose through the ranks to become the IDF’s top commander but as yet has no experience in government. He tried to run a start-up but wasn’t successful. He is soft-spoken, and when he addresses an audience, he does so with considerably less grace than Netanyahu. Detractors on the left dismiss him as naive. He displays no hint of corruption or the hedonism that afflicts Netanyahu.
One of Netanyahu’s favored election slogans is “Only Bibi.” And he has managed to hang on to power for now. But temporary victories aside, it seems increasingly likely that the first politician in a decade to challenge the impression that only Bibi can lead Israel may be Benny Gantz.