Images and video of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett rising from his chair to chase his predecessor in office, Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu, around parliament will forever be ingrained in our memories as one of the lowest moments of his public life. The same is true of the rude way in which he blew off the woman who for years was his confidante, Religious Zionism Party MK Orit Strock, telling her to get out of his sight.
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When Bennett lost his temper, his conduct reflected his increasing frustration, or so we can assume, given recent developments and the comments he has made.
In the first four months that he was in office, Bennett overcame the Delta coronavirus variant and held his own in meetings with US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin and in the diplomatic arena in general. The complicated government he headed functioned, which was certainly not a given, and passed a state budget. He and Foreign Minister and Prime Minister-designate Yair Lapid could not seem to find enough nice things to say about each other.
The honeymoon, however, was soon over. The so-called "coronavirus cabinet" stopped listening to Bennett. His wife flew overseas in violation of his public recommendations. Internal disputes at the Prime Minister's Office were leaked, and he was forced to swallow an increasing number of items on the Left's agenda, including recent legislation to connect illegally built homes to Israel's national electricity grid.
At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that his fellow coalition members see Bennett and his opinions as irrelevant. When Bennett spoke behind closed doors of a possible lockdown to rein in the coronavirus, Yisrael Beytenu party head and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded by publicly saying there would be no such thing. The latter's remark ultimately determined government policy.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton also lied to him and apparently thwarted the vaccination campaign Bennett had planned for schools. His chief partner, Lapid, appeared to forget the prime minister in a video recorded six months into the coalition government. Anyone who watches the video would be hard-pressed not to walk away with the impression that the Yesh Atid leader is the one running the country and Bennett is just an extra in a government production.
Of course, there is one responsible adult in the coalition: Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The Blue and White party leader is conducting his own independent policies on diplomacy and defense, areas that are traditionally under the prime minister's control. Gantz travels all over the world, meeting with heads of state, even though he is only a defense minister. Bennett has no control over him.
The coalition's achievements are also beginning to wear thin. Biden hasn't spoken to Bennett since August. The historic visit to the United Arab Emirates did not make the expected splash, and he is unable to visit other countries due to the pandemic. Then the Omicron came and took control of everything. The man who wrote the book on how to defeat a pandemic admitted in closed talks that he in fact did not have any idea.
Add to this his weak political standing. Six months into the role, the prime minister continues to fight for his political existence, tussling with members of the camp he originally hailed from and to which he can no longer return. One can be certain that this is not how he thought things would go.
To this political and operational impasse, we must also add the inherent weakness of the prime minister's role in Israel. The public may not know it, but the prime minister is in practice one of the least influential ministers in government.
The law confers executive powers to all of Israel's ministers. By contrast, the prime minister's power comes from being "the first among equals" and by virtue of his political power. Only the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies, as well as a few other minor government offices, are directly subordinate to the premier. Unlike in the US, all the other government ministries are subordinate to the ministers at their head. Bennett does not have any authority to issue ministry directors-general orders.
Previous premiers overcame this hurdle by use of political force. They headed the central party in the coalition government, and as a result, ministers from their party, who were the majority, were afraid to defy them.
Just two ministers in the current coalition government are now dependent on Bennett: Ayelet Shaked and Matan Kahana, both from his Yamina party. The 34 remaining ministers are dependent on Lapid, Lieberman, Gantz, New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar, and Labor party head Meirav Michaeli. So, while they may be careful not to disrespect Bennett, when push comes to shove, they have no reason to take him into account.
One can assume this mess is the reason he lost control Wednesday morning. For his sake and ours, let's hope he can get himself together. After all, he is the prime minister. He should start acting like one.
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