Benjamin Netanyahu, with the 52 members of Knesset who support him, is losing the premiership because of serious allegations leveled against him. His adversaries, who are cobbling together the future government, claim that "his rule is illegitimate" because he "cares only about his own survival, didn't pass a national budget, prefers his own interests over those of the country," and that he "has lost credibility."
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
1 Even prior to its inception, the prospective Bennett-Lapid government already suffers from these same maladies. Credibility: The apparent next prime minister, Naftali Bennett, has lost the trust of most of his voters, who according to polls completely oppose the composition of the governments he intends to lead. The backdrop for this, of course, is his campaign promises not to sit with Lapid and to only form a right-wing government. With these positions as a starting point, it's hard to conclude he has any more credibility than Netanyahu.
2 Survivability: This will be the foremost and perhaps only objective of the new government in general and of Bennett in particular. After all, an ideological chasm exists between the members of the proposed coalition. They agree on nothing, aside from "not Netanyahu." This reality will force Bennett, Lapid and the remaining members to make decisions that completely contradict their own worldview. How will these "compromises" be any different from the many times Netanyahu had to forsake his own values to survive!? Here we have MK Matan Kahana, Bennett's lackey, already saying "there's a time for ideology and time for mollification." In other words, say goodbye to ideology and hello to seat-ology.
3 The budget: At least according to reports, Bennett and Lapid intend to lift the historic restriction anchored in Basic Law that requires governments to pass budgets. This law was ratified because irresponsible Israeli governments failed to pass national budgets, indeed as Netanyahu inappropriately failed to do last year. But if Bennett and Lapid are outlining a path that will let them eschew passing a budget, how is that any better than Netanyahu?
4 Legitimacy (I): "Netanyahu didn't receive the support of the people, four times," say members of the new government. This, of course, is correct, but have any of them received any more support? Are Bennett's six mandates, or Lapid's 17, more than Netanyahu's 30 mandates!? This entire argument is utterly absurd. Moreover, this would-be government will be the first minority government in Israel's history. Lo and behold, the government without 61 seats, whose members are deeply divided in all areas, whose prime minister hails from a tiny party whose own voters oppose his actions – will now run the country. It's fair to call such a coalition a mutation that also suffers from a lack of legitimacy – no less than Netanyahu.
5 Legitimacy (II): In its current constellation, this minority government excludes key components of the population, specifically the Jewish public. It is essentially an elitist government that, rather than leaning on popular support, relies on Israel's wealthy and powerful, particularly the influential left-wing media. It will perhaps secure the requisite number of votes in the Knesset, but we can hardly say it has more legitimacy than Netanyahu in the public's eyes.
The bottom line is that Bennett, if he swears in a government, will begin his journey from an unprecedentedly low point. Perhaps only Ehud Olmert, in the wake of the Second Lebanon War, lacked public support to the same degree with which Bennett will start. From this starting position, Bennett will soon have to make very difficult decisions that can impact the economic situation of millions and put lives in danger, all while contending with diplomatic pressures he cannot fathom.
It is unideal, to say the least, to start a new government in this manner.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
