Netanyahu has never looked weaker - and his rivals might yet save him
The lack of a clear agreement within the change bloc to unite behind the leader of the largest party is a strategic failure that could lead to the country's collapse.
1. The main threat to the change bloc
If the polls are correct, the change camp will be able to form a government on October 28. There is still time, but the current picture is optimistic. The trend is positive, the messages are clear, and the candidates are experienced. On the other side, with Benjamin Netanyahu, there is abandonment and helplessness. Therefore, the main threat to the change bloc's ability to form a government is the change bloc itself.
Gaps between parties in the bloc are legitimate, but the lack of a clear agreement to unite behind the head of the largest party is a strategic failure. This could cause one of the most destructive own goals ever. It is hard to understand why the heads of the change bloc parties have not yet declared that the day after the elections they will stand behind the head of the largest party. No tricks, no games, no unnecessary alliances. This is literally existential.
2. There is no second chance
Why is it mandatory to stand behind the head of the largest party now? Consider this scenario: Eisenkot is the head of the largest party, but Bennett and Lieberman coordinate positions and split the bloc. The president might succumb to pressure and task Netanyahu with forming the government. Netanyahu would do everything—offering ministerial posts to anyone—to cling to his chair. He would try to tear chunks out of the change bloc, as he has done before.
He must not be given the opportunity. On October 27, it must be clear that the change bloc stands as one man behind the head of the largest party. This would allow for quick action: replacing the Speaker of the Knesset and the Chairman of the Knesset Committee to ensure proper administrative procedures and begin the long journey of rehabilitation. If this does not happen, a vacuum of speculation and conspiracy will be created, which Netanyahu will use to sow chaos. A split in the change camp will make this task easier for him.
3. The disappeared campaign
Since his 1999 defeat, Benjamin Netanyahu has not been in such a bad position on the eve of elections. He has no energy, no messages, and no achievements. His campaign is bland, and his promises of "absolute victory" have dissipated. The public is exhausted and looking for hope, but they do not find it with Netanyahu. Almost everything he touches withers and fades.
4. The Smurfs State
Inside the Likud, Nir Barkat stands as a lighthouse of patheticness. There is an impressive collection of "Nir Barkats" in the Likud: those who understand the magnitude of the disaster but do not dare to chirp. They cooperate with feigned enthusiasm, hoping to win the inheritance once Netanyahu retires. Barkat is the most wretched of this group, clinging to the shred of possibility that he will be prime minister, selling the last crumbs of his self-respect.
5. Terror is terror
What is happening in the hills of Judea and Samaria is alarming. Even the American ambassador, Mike Huckabee, a staunch defender of the settlements, called the gangs embittering Palestinian lives "terrorists." Major General (res.) Yaakov Or warns: "A malignant cancer whose metastases are spreading to the destruction of the body." When the political echelon supports and incites extremists, the State of Israel pays the price. Terror is terror, and whoever ignores it when it is small will get it big. Very big.
