No, this can't be happening. Our reality has now surpassed anything we could have imagined. The fact that politicians have opted for a third election goes far beyond the farcical. There is a crisis of trust between elected officials and the people, and it is on a level that will be difficult to rehabilitate. Twice now the people have heeded the leaders' calls for an election, and twice these leaders couldn't translate the will of the people into a stable government. These are no less than signs of disintegration. A country is paralyzed and shackled to a faulty system that no one can change.
The ideological gaps between Likud and Blue and White appear negligible. The notion that Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz are exceedingly similar has been bandied about regularly in recent months. Declarations by President Reuven Rivlin and Avigdor Lieberman that national unity is the necessary and appropriate order of the day, and that only ego has led these two individuals, and us with them, to the edge of the precipice, largely fell on deaf ears.
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The truth is more complicated. More than a few people from both camps would have struggled mightily to stomach the formation of a national unity government. The gaps seem small, but in actuality, the differences of opinion could be significant. Blue and White officials have chosen to fully pursue the matter of investigations, immunity and everything in between, even though this is only for campaign purposes. It is an attempt to take a bite out of the right-wing camp and transfer votes to their side. Hence they've tread lightly on matters of diplomacy, and on security issues have sounded more hawkish than any sitting cabinet minister.
But this blurring of identities cannot mask the simple truth: Benny Gantz is the leader of the left-wing camp; Benjamin Netanyahu is the leader of the right-wing camp. Gantz's natural partners are the Labor and Meretz parties, while Netanyahu's are Habayit Hayehudi, the New Right and the ultra-Orthodox factions. Gantz believes in two states for two peoples and kick-starting the diplomatic process; Netanyahu does not. Gantz is bound by the notion that Israel's international standing depends on the state of talks with Ramallah. And Netanyahu believes that diplomatic might is built through the economy and alliances with strong countries.
It's safe to assume that these issues will continue to be marginalized throughout the election campaign newly thrust upon us. With the help of the press, basically the only issue we'll hear about, yet again, will be investigations, indictments, and immunity. And the most problematic aspect isn't even the election campaign, but its outcome. All signs currently point to another failure to overcome the political deadlock. The 2020 election campaign launched on Wednesday – but barring a dramatic change, we could very well find ourselves voting more than once in the coming year.
