Voters again asked to break political gridlock
JERUSALEM — Israelis vote Tuesday in their fourth parliamentary election in just two years. Once again, the race boils down to a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu, who has served as prime minister for the past 12 years, hopes voters will reward him for leading the country’s successful coronavirus vaccine rollout and his diplomatic outreach to the Arab world. His challengers have highlighted his earlier missteps in the coronavirus strategy, his reliance on divisive religious and ultranationalist allies and his ongoing corruption trial.
Over the years, Netanyahu has developed a reputation as a political magician and master manipulator capable of surviving any crisis. With witnesses set to take the stand against him next month, he is hoping for another miracle that could deliver a friendlier parliament willing to grant him immunity or freeze his trial. Opponents portray him as a serial liar who has caused two years of political paralysis by putting his political survival and legal troubles ahead of the country’s interests.
Opinion polls forecast an extremely tight race, raising the possibility of continued deadlock and even an unprecedented fifth consecutive election. Netanyahu appears to hold a slight advantage because of the intricacies of Israel’s political system.
In Israel, people vote for parties, not individual candidates. Netanyahu’s Likud is again poised to emerge as the largest individual party. But since no party has ever won a 61seat parliamentary majority on its own, political alliances must be formed to create a governing coalition. If the opinion polls prove accurate, Netanyahu would have a clearer path to building a government than the array of rivals that have little in common beyond their animosity toward him.
Netanyahu has staked his reelection hopes on the success of Israel’s successful vaccination campaign. Netanyahu last December moved quickly and aggressively, personally lobbying the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna, to secure enough vaccines for Israel’s 9.3 million people. In under three months, Israel has vaccinated some 80% of its adult population. With infection rates plunging, that has allowed the country to reopen schools, restaurants, museums and the main airport just in time for election day.
Opponents have accused Netanyahu of bungling the management of the pandemic over the past year. A series of lockdowns hit the economy hard, thousands of businesses failed and unemployment remains in double digits. Many also have bitter memories of Netanyahu’s ultraOrthodox allies flouting lockdown rules and point to the country’s more than 6,000 COVID19 deaths.
With the economy coming back to life, Netanyahu is hoping the growing sense of normalcy will make voters forget the difficulties of the past year. This may explain that while polls show a majority of Israelis want Netanyahu replaced, he also is seen as bestsuited to be prime minister.
“In people’s minds, first and foremost when you go into an election, is the identity of the prime minister,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute. “In many ways, this works in Netanyahu’s favor because it’s unclear who the opponent is.”
Analysts expect turnout to be lower than the 71% level of the most recent election a year ago, in part because of continued concerns about the coronavirus along with general voter fatigue.