Fragile as the current coalition government may be, Benjamin Netanyahu knows the opposition he now heads is even more vulnerable. Haredi factions have already begun shooting glances at senior members of the new government, and members of the Likud party itself may also be persuaded by tempting offers to quickly and immediately redeem them from opposition life once legislation allowing a minimum of just four lawmakers to leave a faction in the Knesset becomes law.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
That is why Netanyahu has concluded he has no other choice. Even if it leads to extending the life of the current government by a few months, he must send the unequivocal message this government is temporary and that at any minute, the revolution will succeed, and the Right will return to power.
While from Netanyahu's perspective, there may be no other choice, his stance has done nothing to calm the nerves of former government ministers who now find themselves spending night after night waging meaningless wars in the Knesset plenum and the Knesset Arrangements Committee, both of which have increasingly come to resemble cockfighting arenas.
"For years, Netanyahu completely relinquished personal relations between himself and party members," a former minister from the Likud party said earlier this week. "He did not cultivate relationships, did not show interest in [their] personal lives. On the contrary, he always acted suspiciously and with a watchful eye toward the actions and statements of his senior officials."
The former minister said that "over time, Netanyahu's relationship with others became a give and take relationship. They said Netanyahu would give those who demanded a promotion and expressed frustration with their status what they wanted only if he "concluded that they did indeed deserve one, or the cost-benefit analysis of not giving the bitter individual what they demanded [would lead him to make that decision]. He never tried to talk, have a conversation, or show he understood how they felt," the minister said.
In effect, according to another former minister and current Likud MK, "There's not one person in the Likud who doesn't feel Netanyahu didn't them into consideration, didn't see them, and felt frustrated as a result." According to the minister: "There are those who know how to overcome personal feelings and still have great appreciation for the man and support him for all his leadership qualities. Yet there are many for whom the personal is more important. Some of them, like [New Hope party chief] Gideon Sa'ar and [New Hope MK] Ze'ev Elkin, have already left," he said. The minister noted the additional examples of Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Lieberman, Prime Minister, and Yamina faction chief Naftali Bennett, and former Netanyahu aide Shalom Shlomo, the latter of whom now serves as Bennett's cabinet secretary.
This time, however, the former minister noted: "Unlike in the past, Netanyahu has nothing to give – neither jobs nor budgets. There is nothing in the opposition, and now he's suddenly trying to go back to basic human relations, the lack of which got him into the trouble he's dealing with today. Suddenly he's trying to be nice. Suddenly he wants to see faction members, even flattering them on occasion."
Netanyahu's problem, according to the ex-minister, is that "no one believes him. To change the situation, the opposition chief will need to work very hard to restore trust and interpersonal relations. It's not for certain he even remembers how to do that anymore, and that's why my assessment is it's destined for failure."
As for the possibility coalition members succeed in their efforts, four Likud lawmakers are found who are willing to defect once the law on leaving a faction is passed, Likud officials were more cautious.
"It won't be easy for them to enlist four MKs," one of the Likud lawmakers said. "Those who wanted to leave left. All those who stayed decided to stay despite Netanyahu, and won't likely do it now. To date, it looks like a future in the Likud is more promising than in one of the parties that make up the current coalition," they said.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
