Benjamin Netanyahu, King of Israel

The Prime Minister, distinguished by his ability to interpret Israeli society, will begin his fifth term and will be the oldest leader of the state of Israel since its inception.

April 13, 2019

The Old Testament says that King David directed the city of Israel for years with wisdom and justice and so, to this day, one sings an old Jewish song that names him "the king of Israel who lives and exists forever".

It's no coincidence that supporters of the Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu sing: "Bibi, king of Israel." He will badume his fifth term and will be, in July 2019, the oldest leader of the State of Israel created in 1948, exceeding even the legendary figure of David Ben Gurion.

In 2015, we reported in this section that Netanyahu had managed to interpret – better than anyone else – Israeli society. And despite the fact that there was a movement contesting the election, to see which party was the most voted, several religious and nationalist parties have already said they would support him to badume the role of prime minister. It should be recalled that in the Israeli parliamentary system, out of a total of 120 legislators, it takes at least 61 to form a government. The task of training it does not necessarily return to the party that has won the most seats, since a party in the history of the country has reached 61 and, with it, the absolute majority . For this reason, they are still coalition governments. The party led by Netanyahu won 35 seats, its immediate competitor 35 and then – very far – and with less than ten seats, there are other political formations. Among them, the historic and discouraged Labor Party, which has barely had six, has the same number of mandates as a coalition led by the former Communist Party.

Netanyahu's experience of power has served to eclipse again and again alternative leaders emerging in their ranks in the running for the right-wing and right-wing nationalist vote. On the other hand, the so-called "left parties", which are fighting for a peace deal with the Palestinians, have been in free fall for a long time.

What is remarkable about Netanyahu is his victory in many corruption scandals that directly challenge him (which he has denied many times) and to important media who are fighting him. The influential newspaper Haaretz, in its editorial after the victory, even dared to claim that its leaders had turned the country into a dictatorship.

But neither the denunciations of corruption, nor the powerful power that he has built fail to shake his leadership, nor the high level of poverty that contrasts with the image of a country in full swing. According to official data, 21% of the population is poor – and in this country, 29% of boys and girls – and poverty reaches 69% for the unemployed.

Twenty-three years after his first election as prime minister, Netanyahu is more alive than ever and that is why his supporters say that he is the "king of Israel". For the moment, no one can dethrone him. It will be necessary to see if the judiciary does it.

NOTE PUBLISHED ON CNN IN SPANISH