Netanyahu vowed to “return national pride to the citizens of Israel” after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Monday that he would be dissolving the current government
TEL AVIV, Israel—Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already plotting his return to power when Israelis go to the polls in October for a fifth election in less than four years, but another deadlock seems to be the more likely outcome—one that would benefit his centrist rival, Yair Lapid.
Netanyahu vowed to “return national pride to the citizens of Israel” after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Monday that he would be dissolving the current government, just a year after it was formed. The announcement triggered a countdown to a new election and raised core questions about the stability and future of the Israeli political system, chief among them: Would Netanyahu, who ruled Israel for 12 consecutive years until he was ousted in 2021, make a quick comeback?
Bibi, as he is widely known, has served as the leader of the opposition in the past year while fighting corruption charges in court. His trial is ongoing and could last several years. There’s no law that prevents him from serving as prime minister while fighting the charges.
Netanyahu’s pitch to voters remains much the same: a right-wing nationalist government that includes his own Likud party along with smaller, far-right, and ultra-Orthodox factions.
His main challenger is Lapid, who heads the centrist Yesh Atid party and served as foreign minister in Bennett’s government. Lapid was the architect of the Bennett coalition, which included factions from across the political spectrum and, for the first time, an Arab-Israeli party.
According to the power-sharing agreement he struck with Bennett, Lapid will take over as prime minister once the government is officially dissolved and continue serving in the position until a new government is formed after the election.
In the case of a deadlock—which Israel faced multiple times following recent elections—Lapid would continue in the role of prime minister.
“We need to go back to the idea of Israeli unity, not let the forces of darkness divide us from within,” Lapid said on Monday.
It was a clear reference to the diversity of the ruling coalition of the past year and to what the upcoming election will be about.
“The outgoing coalition will try to present a civil and civilized and friendly face, emphasizing that you can have a different politics in Israel: not the politics of hatred but the politics of cooperation,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, a political strategist. “Lapid even told Bennett he loved him on live television [on Monday] in front of the entire country.”
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