Netanyahu hopes winning vaccine race will tilt fourth election his way
Prime minister talks up the success of Israel’s rollout of Covid jab ‘every 10 seconds’ in bid to sway swing voters
Israel’s prime minister is gambling his premiership on winning the global vaccine race as he faces a daunting fourth election in two years. Embattled by corruption scandals, three inconclusive poll results and economic chaos wrought by the pandemic, Benjamin Netanyahu – fondly known as “Bibi” – has placed vaccines at the heart of his campaign ahead of fresh polls in March.
His Right-wing Likud party believes Israelis’ delight at receiving vaccines so early will lead to victory at the ballot-box, seeing off a new party that has sought to steal Right-wing votes. “Absolutely Bibi is using it as a campaign issue,” Dr Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli political analyst and pollster, said. “The joke going around town is that every 10 seconds in an interview he has to mention vaccines.”
The key issue, she said, was whether vaccine success will help him win back voters furious about the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
Middle and lower-middle class business owners are a major part of Likud’s base, but have been infuriated by a lack of support by the government and the disappearance of tourists due to a border shutdown. At the peak of the pandemic, unemployment in Israel rose to around 20 per cent.
“The question is whether swing voters will succumb to the pull of the vaccine, or abandon Likud because their businesses have been shut down,” Dr Scheindlin said. “Elsewhere, those who like him will say he deserves to win. And those who don’t will say, he did a good job on vaccines – but he’s bad in every other way.”
The need to secure as many vaccines as possible led to surreal scenes at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, where he bombarded vaccine providers with nearly 20 phone calls.
“The prime minister, I would say, drove companies crazy with calls,” Yuli Edelstein, Israel’s health minister, told The Telegraph earlier this week. “He explained the advantages of supplying the vaccine at a very early stage to Israel. He played a crucial role.”
Mr Netanyahu’s efforts paid off, with the Jewish state quickly becoming the world’s fastest vaccinator as it gave the first of two jabs to more than 20 per cent of the population in just a few weeks. It means that Israel, often the subject of excoriating criticism, is now basking in international praise – though it has faced some disapproval for not vaccinating Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel says it has no legal obligation as the Nineties-era Oslo peace accords state that this is the duty of Palestinian leaders.
The path to securing millions of vaccines for Israelis was not easy, however. Mr Edelstein said Israel’s government was initially concerned it would be at the back of the queue, with the major firms showing little interest in a market of just nine million people.
To avoid this, Mr Netanyahu made at least 17 personal phone calls to Pfizer, where he argued that Israel’s small size worked to its advantage. “Companies weren’t looking in our direction,” Mr Edelstein said. “So we tried to ‘sell’ the idea to companies if we received the vaccine we would receive quick results long before others around the world.”
Israel is also reported to have paid a higher price for vaccines – nearly $30 per dose according to broadcaster Kan, compared with around $20 in the United States and the European Union.
Mr Netanyahu’s other trump card is the Abraham Accords, the peace treaty signed with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that allowed settlers in the West Bank to begin exporting “Made in Israel” wines and olive oil to Emirati clients, a gesture that will delight Right-wing voters. It unlocked dozens of trade deals, direct flights and full diplomatic relations, while allowing thousands of Israeli tourists to enjoy holidays in Dubai for the first time.
Bibi’s supporters say it has transformed the Middle East by allowing friendships to blossom between Israelis and Arabs, something that they say was once unthinkable.
It remains to be seen if the accords or a vaccine triumph will see off Mr Netanyahu’s most threatening challenger, a pro-settlement firebrand and former Likud minister who has placed himself firmly on the Right of his former boss. Gideon Sa’ar, the founder of New Hope, is projected to win around 19 seats, which would make his faction the second largest in parliament after Likud, and prevent Mr Netanyahu and his allies from securing the 61-seat coalition needed.
“There is no doubt Netanyahu will take credit for the vaccinations. But at the same time he has responsibility for the unemployment, political instability and the fourth election,” Yoaz Hendel, New Hope Knesset member, said.