As long as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in office he has no problem passing dramatic resolutions such as shuttering the economy. His ministers and advisers believe some moves are vital to stemming the coronavirus outbreak and the opposition is unlikely to protest any of these measures, with the exception of the fact that the prime minister's trial has been postponed over the situation.
Were Blue and White leader Benny Gantz be named the prime minister at this time, any move he would like to instate to fight the global pandemic would most likely not be challenged, either.
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The coronavirus outbreak does note mandate the formation of an emergency government as it is not the subject of public controversy or a major dilemma that undermines the legitimacy of Israel's captains and requires them to call on the opposition to join the government.
Almost all national unity governments in the world have been formed so as to ward off an external enemy. The common thread for all of them is the need for the backing of various elements of society, other than government supporters, for drastic measures aimed at saving lives or placing them in harm's way.
If, for example, the government decides to impose a two-week quarantine for everyone returning from overseas regardless of their potential exposure to the virus, or had the public protested over the fact that a caretaker government set this precedent, then it would make sense for Netanyahu, as the head of the longest transitional government in Israel's history, to ask its political rivals to join the government, so they could back his decisions.
Recent polls show that this is not the case – more than two-thirds of the public is willing to accept the restrictions imposed by Netanyahu's.
As long as there is no new government that enjoys the Knesset's confidence there is nothing preventing the current government from dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. As soon as a new government is established it should assume this responsibility.
Netanyahu led the public into three election campaigns, none of which gave him a majority of, just because transitional governments allow him to continue to serve in his role while standing trial for corruption.
It is not surprising that Netanyahu is now clinging to the corona crisis to form a government. He would surely like to remain in office even after the virus disappears. But we are not at war, Arab armies are not standing in our gates, and these are not decisions that the people disagree with and therefore Gantz and his camp to deviate from their efforts to form a narrow, ideological government or a rotational government in which Gantz will serve first.
