The Return of 'King Bibi'

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv

Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s rightwing coalition triumphed in Israel’s snap legislative election held on the 1st of November. Israeli voters seemed determined to end the cycle of parliamentary gridlock followed by repeated snap elections as voter turnout reached the highest rate since 2015 with 71%. After only 16 months out of office and an ongoing corruption investigation, Netanyahu has made a dramatic comeback. 

Israel's 5th snap election in less than 4 years was called after the collapse of the diverse coalition, formed to oust Netanyahu after years of parliamentary gridlock. The alliance represented the degree of opposition to Netanyahu by dividing Israeli politics into pro- and anti-Bibi camps. The coalition was dogged from the start by the diametrically opposed ideologies of its members, who spanned the vast political spectrum of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament). This included both Islamist and radical right parties who united under the one common goal of dethroning “King Bibi”. After a string of defeats, the coalition – and with it, the 36th government of Israel – collapsed on 30th June 2022 just a year after its formation.

A major motivator for the creation of the coalition was Netanyahu’s declining legitimacy due to ongoing corruption investigations that began in 2016. He was initially indicted in 2019 in three separate cases, on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The trial finally began in May 2020 but has not yet concluded. While Netanyahu is allowed to remain in office during the trial, he will be legally obliged to step down if convicted. Many believe that once Netanyahu is reinstated as Prime Minister he will install judges who will rule in his favour, or even change the legal code to make it impossible to prosecute a sitting Prime Minister.  

Netanyahu’s return to the role of Prime Minister seems, in many respects, to be a return to the status quo for Israeli politics. However, it is crucial to note that, unlike Netanyahu’s previous coalitions, the new government is likely to consist entirely of Likud (Netanyahu’s party) and parties that are even further to the right. This has been made possible by the massive surge in support for Itamar Ben-Gvir and his rightwing extremist religious zionist party, who have more than doubled their number of seats in the Knesset in the most recent election. This electoral success will further embolden the Israeli radical right in escalating their ethnonationalist agenda, thus jeopardising Israel’s most important alliances as well as the fragile accords with various Arab states.