Netanyahu’s political future clouded in rivalry with ex-ally

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s murky relationship with an angry former protege has sent Israeli politics into uncharted waters. By triggering an early election, Avigdor Lieberman has raised questions about the political future of the prime minister, who is bracing for charges in a corruption case.

He also has emerged as a feared kingmaker who could continue to threaten Netanyahu.

“They’ve been going at each other for years,” said Reuven Hazan, a professor of political science at Hebrew University.

In coalition negotiations over the years, he said Lieberman has seemingly enjoyed dragging out talks “until the last minute.”

The latest showdown, in which Lieberman blocked Netanyahu from forming a coalition government, was the culmination of years of up-and-down relations between student and mentor. It ended in a vote early Thursday that dissolved parliament less than two months after elections and triggered another national vote in September.

In a further embarrassment to Netanyahu, it happened just as President Donald Trump’s Mideast team was arriving to promote a peace initiative. A lengthy Israeli election campaign adds even more uncertainty to the U.S. plan.

Lieberman, a former nightclub bouncer, immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet republic of Moldova in the 1970s. He got his start in politics as an aide to Netanyahu, serving as his chief of staff during his first term as prime minister in the late 1990s. He quickly resigned, however, to protest concessions Netanyahu made to the Palestinians and launched a new party, Yisrael Beitenu, appealing primarily to fellow Soviet immigrants.

That set the stage for one of the strangest relationships in Israeli politics. While the U.S.-educated Netanyahu has cultivated an image as a telegenic and worldly statesman, Lieberman speaks in a dour, Russian-accented monotone. While Netanyahu presents himself as a leader, Lieberman is seen as a master backroom operator.

Yet he has proven to be a valuable ally to Netanyahu, briefly merging their parties earlier this decade. Lieberman resigned as defense minister last year, accusing Netanyahu of being weak toward Gaza militants.