Economic boom, nationalism and alliance with religious, Benjamin Netanyahu's cocktail to prolong his record

The campaign was intense and pbadionate, politicians participated in many acts of proselytism, discussions on Facebook and presses filled their pockets by preparing posters and parades. Democracy could not be more alive in Israel and the contest pitted the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with the alliance of two powerful rivals, retired General Benny Gantz and former journalist Yair Lapid.
A race where anything can happen, said the Israelis for months. But Monday night, when everything was ready for the vote the next day, the same conversation was repeated in infinity, in bars, on the phone, in a low voice …

– Yes, I will vote for Azul y Blanco, Gantz (or Labor Party, or Meretz …), but we already know that after all, Netanyahu still wins
This time, in a slightly less spectacular way than in previous elections, from 2015 – when the Israelis fell asleep after voting with a tie between Bibi and the left-center reference, Yitzjak Herzog, and woke up with a Likud victory – the triumph was badured a few hours after the close of the elections.

Tuesday in Jerusalem, at noon, counted more than 97% of votes, Netanyahu's Likud took 35 of the 120 seats of the Knesset, the unicameral Israeli parliament, against others 35 blue and white.
As in Israel the system is parliamentary, the candidate who is crowned Prime Minister is the one who is able to add the necessary majority of at least 61 seats in the Knesset and thus be able to receive the commission to form a government.

This subject, Netanyahu had already resolved it in advance and the vote confirmed it.

According to Israeli media accounts, the right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu will add 65 seats, against only 55 of the center / center pole.

To begin adding, Bibi will have the support of the two main orthodox religious parties, the Shas, which represents Sephardim, and Yahadut HaTorah (United Torah Judaism), from the Ashkenazi sector, which garnered eight seats each.

These parties are already former partners of Neyanyahu, who often entrust them with important positions in fundamental ministries in the eyes of religious, such as transport or education. From these places and under the political pressure of their votes, Shas and Yahadut HaTora keep the country under various religious precepts, the most striking of them. lack of public transportation on Shabbat and kosher control of food.

In a gesture of hope, Gantz, a former highly decorated and respected military officer and former chief of staff of the Israeli armed forces, had declared a few days before the vote that he was reaching out to the parties. to form a government. .

Aryeh Deri, one of the founders of the Shas and current Minister of the Interior, has cut short: the leaders of Azul and Blanco "are trying in vain" to address to religious parties.

Deri spoke like this at a meeting of his party. We know that he respects Gantz, but Lapid can not even see him. Is the former journalist – and former finance minister between 2013 and 2015, after being allied in coalition with the Likud – is known for his favorable position for greater entry into the US? army of the ranks of young Orthodox, most of whom still avoid military service by going to the "yeshiva" to study the Torah.

Netanyahu, on the other hand, is in favor of expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories – a movement motivated by religious motives – does not intend to change the rules of Shabbat and is also not an enthusiastic for younger Orthodox youth in the army, so that he always relied on the seats of Yahadut HaTorah and Shas.

In addition to Likud, Shas and Yahadut HaTorá, the block that supports Netanyahu is formed Israel Beiteinu, who added five seats, Ihud Miflagot HaYamin o Union of right-wing parties, an alliance that includes an ultra-nationalist anti-Arab sector and also won five seats, and Kulanuat four. Together, they add the 65 who will support Bibi.

Azul y Blanco, on the other hand, made a very good choice, but has nowhere to rely on the left, because the historic Labor Party barely reaches six seats and the The socialist left of the Meretz barely scratched by four.
In his triumphant speech on Tuesday night, Netanyahu said he was expecting his allies to ask President Reuven Rivlin, as soon as possible, to instruct him to form a government. "It's an incredible win," Bibi told supporters at Likud headquarters. I am very moved by the fact that, for the fifth time, the Israeli people have believed in me."

But while electoral joy was spreading across half of the country, the other half – and many of those who voted for Netanyahu – are still worried about Bibi's prolonged rule and some of his demagogic attitudes.

The Israeli economy continues to be in full swing, one of the main reasons for the victory of the Likud, but about Netanyahu and his wife Sara weigh several allegations of corruption. Netanyahu's wife is, for many here, even the one who puts "color" in corruption cases, many of them almost frivolous.

The justice has already warned this year Netanyahu who plans to conduct an investigation for supposedly exchanged "public favors"in exchange for gifts of up to thousands of dollars, including The jewels that rumored here went to Sara's neck.

Accusing corruption is not a joke in Israel, as confirmed by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who spent sixteen months in prison after being convicted of pocketing 60,000 shekels (approximately $ 17,000) in exchange for a building permit. luxury tours in Jerusalem.

"The money was not for me, but for political expenses," Olmert argued in an interview with the Yediot Ajaronot newspaper, during which he issued a recommendation for Netanyahu: " Bibi, come home as soon as possible and elegantly. "

"The sooner he acts, the better he will remember all the good things he's done, because he's done it," said the former prime minister, "but his It persists with this behavior, these things will be forgotten. "

Olmert accused the winner last night of persecuting the prosecutors who are investigating him. Netanyahu, said: "takes advantage of his position" and "leads a battle against justice," he said. "I have never done that as Prime Minister, I have never attacked anyone," he added.

Olmert's remarks synthesize the opinion of a broad sector of the country, many of whom acknowledge that, despite everything, the Israeli economy is doing very well.

Although the health system and several basic infrastructure sectors are cracking, Israel is a regular on the lists of the richest countries and is ranked first in the ranking of the "happiest nations" that the UN prepares each year.

When you start your fifth term, and continue to extend your record in power (with 10 years, is already the prime minister with more time continued in the office)Netanyahu may be "protected" by the country's macroeconomic success. It can hardly be harmed, for example, by its position at the forefront of peace negotiations with the Palestinians, who disappeared during his term under the indifference of Western countries and Arab neighbors.

It remains to be seen how he will withstand the growing tide of allegations of corruption and discomfort that his wife Sara is causing in much of the population and the establishment.

And it also worries a flank that worries muted but which, for many, is perhaps the most serious danger facing the country: Netanyahu's tendency to accumulate power based on nationalist sentiments.
A few days before the vote, Netanyahu had even pledged "to apply Israeli sovereignty" over the West Bank "without making any distinction" with the "blocks" of the occupied territories that are in practice controlled by the Palestinians.

Although there are countless Muslim citizens here in Parliament, in town halls, in justice or in science and sports, for many, it is undeniable that the right wants to proceed with a "destabilization" of the country, which is unacceptable to those who dreamed of a democracy for all, even without Isrel being no longer a Jewish state.

With this background, "the election results are not surprising"he said Infobae Julia Elad-Strenger, Professor, Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University.

"During the campaign," he continued, "Netanyahu has mobilized right-wing voters by calling its" left-wing "rivals, even when their political platforms are not that different."

For Elad-Strenger, this "dichotomy" led by the Likud worked in the elections on Tuesday. "With a majority of the electorate who deems it right, Netanyahu's rhetoric led him to vote mainly taking into account his political identity, ignoring accusations" against the prime minister, indicated.

Netanyahu's badtail has proven itself: the Palestinian issue under the rug with the complicity of Hamas's unjustifiable violence and the unfitness of Abu Mazen, an economy that rubs shoulders with more developed countries, a hint of lukewarm anti-Arab sentiment (although Bibi likes to take pictures with the leaders of this sector of the population) and an all-out alliance with religious parties.

It seems that most Israelis love this badtail more than wine and milk and never tire of drinking it.