Monday's dramatic vote on the makeup of the key Knesset Arrangements Committee, which saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rivals deliver him a stinging defeat was something of a plot twist in Israeli politics.
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It demonstrated that what once was will not come to pass again and that the so-called "pro-change" bloc had an actual, tangible chance of forming a coalition and ousting Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has 14 days before his mandate expires. Barring any more political drama, Israel is about a month away from seeing a government led by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Yamina leader Naftali Bennett come to power.
It is still unclear what made Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas join forces with Lapid on Monday and sink the vote on the makeup of the committee that determines the legislative agenda in the new parliament until a new government is formed.
Was it indeed Lapid who convinced him to toe the line or was it New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar? Or, could it be that Abbas has really had enough with Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich's verbal assaults and the resounding silence on Netanyahu's part over the issue?
One thing is clear: Ra'am's leader is not the political wallflower we thought he was. He will not endorse a government only to take a back seat in it, and he will not downplay his presence to please any right-wing hawk who doesn't want to admit he needs the Islamist party's political support. Abbas plans to demand the respect he deserves and the political partnership and achievements that go with it. Only time will tell whether that complicates things or simplifies them.
While Abbas' vote – or rather, abstention in the vote – was all the proof Smotrich needed to say Netanyahu's courting of Ra'am was a huge mistake, for Netanyahu it proved just the opposite: that Abbas must be treated with the same respect he offers; that he needs to be appreciated for putting aside the Arab-Jewish issue and offered significant achievements to show for his efforts; but mostly, it showed Netanyahu that he should strike a partnership with Ra'am, even if it is not offered a government seat.
The loser of the past 24 hours is Bennett. What began as an impressive demonstration of muscle-flexing vis-à-vis Netanyahu, ended in making a bizarre deal followed by a mutual downfall.
Netanyahu has blamed Smotrich for torpedoing the formation of a right-wing government but if anything, it is the prime minister who dropped the ball.
If there is one sector that Netanyahu specializes in dealing with, it is the national-religious public. His influence on rabbis, activists and key figures in this sector is enormous. So much so that one of the main reasons that Bennett broke from Habayit Hayehudi to form the New Right party was his desire to curb the influence of rabbis whom Netanyahu was always able to get to first.
However, since being tasked with forming the government two weeks ago, Netanyahu has done nothing to shore up support among national-religious constituents. Then again, he has 14 days to go and contrary to reports and rumors, he has no intention of returning the mandate ahead of time.
Two weeks in politics are an eternity. Even if at the moment, it seems that nothing will happen during this period of time.
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