As for the coronavirus pandemic, Netanyahu, like many leaders, struggled to balance public health with economic imperatives, although in making what appears to be a winning bid for vaccination, the position of Israel seems stronger than most in terms of its pandemic emergence.
This time, the prime minister faces a wide range of opponents, and opinion polls suggest up to thirteen parties could cross the electoral threshold and secure representation in the 120-seat Knesset.
Centrist Yair Lapid, who served as Netanyahu’s finance minister and was the leader of television news before entering politics with his Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party in 2012, is on his way to ‘finish a clear second, according to all polls.
Two most important figures in this election are former Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Yamina party, and Gideon Saar, leader of New Hope. Both are right-wing, considered ideologically in tune with Netanyahu, but with a clear distinction between them. Saar, like Lapid, has ruled out joining the Likud leader in any government after the election; Bennett has been more cautious about what he would do, making him the possible councilor in this election.
Israeli governments are always coalition agreements, and therefore smaller parties can have a decisive impact. Netanyahu will seek strong performances from the two major religious parties representing the ultra-Orthodox communities; both say they will remain allies with the Likud after the election. In addition, the Israeli leader can be confident that he has the support of the far-right religious Zionism party. Polls suggest that the group, which includes supporters of extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, whose own party was banned from the Knesset in the 1980s for being racist, is on track to cross the electoral threshold and win four or even five. seats.
“I never believed in Netanyahu, but I was willing to cooperate with him for the good of the country,” Gantz said after the collapse of the government, adding later: “I shook hands with a serial breaker. .I shook his hand, because the State of Israel was at war [with the coronavirus], and I am, above all, a soldier. I was wrong. “
One of the most striking aspects of this election campaign has been Netanyahu’s attempts to gain support among Israel’s Arab voters. In previous campaigns, he has been accused of trying to suppress his vote; on election day 2015, he even made a video in which he claimed that Arab voters were “moving to the polls” in order to motivate their Likud base to go out and vote. This time, by contrast, he has produced campaign material where voters declared in Arabic their support for “Abu Yair,” Yair’s father, acclaiming his coronavirus vaccine successes. Privately, Arab party lawmakers admit the campaign has been effective.
The joint list, an alliance of three predominantly Arab parties pledged to oust Netanyahu, looks set to win the region eight seats. The United Arab List, which split from the Joint List in February, hopes to pass the electoral threshold with four seats. Its leader, Mansour Abbas, has taken an irresponsible stance in this campaign, hinting that he could offer the prime minister some form of support in coalition negotiations in exchange for financial commitments that would benefit the country’s 20% Arab minority.
Voting closes at 22:00 (16:00 ET). TV networks post the expected results based on exit surveys almost immediately, but it is likely that a few days will pass before the final results are known. Given that several parties have been voting close to the electoral threshold, it is very possible that some of them will not get seats after counting all the votes, which in turn could have a significant impact on the chances that there are to the parties as they seek to build a coalition of at least 61 seats.
And if the election does not produce a viable coalition, the Israelis could return to the polls by the end of the year.