Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would prefer not to call for early elections at this time. After considering the idea multiple times over the past year, given the latest debacle in Gaza and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman's decision to step down as defense minister, Netanyahu no longer seems eager to of down this path.
If anything, the prime minister wants to distance himself as much as possible from these embarrassing events, even if he may have to give his rival, Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett, the defense portfolio to do so.
But it seems the early election train is more than ready to leave the station. Netanyahu, who has often declared that he always gets his way, is now fighting what appears to be the last political battle of his current term in office. The chances of stopping the early election train are slim to impossible, but Netanyahu is still trying.
Calling an election against the backdrop of the Gaza fiasco puts a serious dent in the image of the ultimate leader that Netanyahu has spent years crafting, and this is exactly what he never wanted to see happen.
Only a few weeks ago, Netanyahu confidently projected that in the next elections, Likud could win 40 Knesset seats. Today, he would probably happily accept the 30 he previously won.
As things stand, the heads of the coalition factions are increasingly warming up to the idea of early elections.
Excluding Lieberman, who called for early elections during his resignation speech, the first to jump on this train was Kulanu leader and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.
Kahlon is not stupid. He knows the time of giving away state funds via generous programs are over. Israel's deficit is about to rear its head and he knows he is on the brink of turning from a finance minister touting a thriving economy to one imposing cuts and taxes.
Moreover, the new housing price index, due to be released in a few weeks, paints a very unflattering picture of soaring housing prices, which is the last thing Kahlon needs in an election year.
Netanyahu is bound to keep fighting the notion of early elections until the very last minute. Ironically, his sharpest critic in the coalition may emerge as the one who can prolong the coalition's life.
A government with Netanyahu as prime minister and Bennett as defense minister could project the necessary stability to get the Knesset to the natural end of its current term, in November 2019.
