Israel govt collapses: What's next for Benjamin Netanyahu and his leadership?

In the latest blow for the unstable coalition in Israel, the divided government collapsed early on December 23 heading nation into the fourth general election in just the matter of two years. Not only this puts the country’s administration in jeopardy amid the crippling COVID-19 pandemic but also poses an unprecedented threat to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lengthy grip on power. However, the dissolving of the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset in exactly 90 days’ time will now only be rectified with the fourth snap election on March 23, 2021.

What’s next for Benjamin Netanyahu?

Netanyahu’s 23rd Knesset officially dispersed as the clock reportedly struck midnight on Tuesday night as the deadline to approve a 2020 budget also expired. Even though the date of the next election could yet be changed by vote, they are set to take place in March. But the failure of the seven-month-old ‘unity government’ between Likud and Blue and White followed by its collapse came when Netanyahu’s contender is a trio of disgruntled former aides. 

Throughout his leadership, Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his opponents by terming them ‘weak leftists’ will have to face the ex-aides of his own government who also align with his hard-line ideology and is led by an imminent lawmaker who recently broke away from Netanyahu’s Likud party. 

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However, despite the challenges of the future, the general consensus as per the Times of Israel report is that Netanyahu won the day by enticing rival Benny Gantz into a unity government after three indecisive elections and shattered the opponent’s centre-left alliance while also spending months avoiding their rotation agreement. However, even though Gantz has lost, this does not necessarily imply that Netanyahu has won because his path to victory has only grown more difficult with Gantz’s collapse.

Even though the once-powerful centrist Blue and White alliance dropped to only 35 seats in 2019, Israeli PM’s main challengers in the upcoming snap election is a former Likud minister Gideon Sa’ar, has set up a new party, New Hope with a primary aim to oust Netanyahu. Further, the contenders include the right-wing/Orthodox Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett, both are reportedly seen as more ‘hawkish’ than Netanyahu on issues concerning the Palestinians as well as the settlements. 

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