ANALYSIS: The shadow of corruption in the manner of Netanyahu | World



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Prime Minister of Israel to visit Brazil and possess the star in the hands of Jair Bolsonaro, Benjamin Netanyahu takes advantage of the meeting with his last ally for a strategic break that will mitigate the internal crisis and prepare him to to face what the experts already consider. Israel's largest election campaign since its founding 70 years ago.

On Christmas Eve, the Prime Minister dissolves Parliament and plans the next election on April 9. He is running for a fourth consecutive term and if polls confirm the polls that favor him, he will replace Ben Gurion as the longest-serving prime minister in the country.

But Netanyahu's main problem is suspected of bribery and other violations of the law in three corruption cases: receive expensive gifts from businessmen, promote the interests of the largest telecommunications operator, Bezeq, in exchange for favorable coverage. on the site controlled by the company; and try to reach an agreement with the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth for the same purpose.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has not yet decided whether to follow the recommendations of the police and prosecute him. We do not know when his decision will be announced.

The call of elections, without clear competition that challenges it, was interpreted as a decision of the prime minister to anticipate the decision of the prosecutor. "It's crucial to reach out to the public who will determine your destiny as a newly re-elected Prime Minister." It could be argued that people have already chosen him knowing the suspicions hanging over him, said Yossi Verter, an editorialist. of Haaretz.

It is also badumed that Netanyahu, if re-elected, could propose to the new government coalition a law that would prevent the outgoing prime minister from being sued. He categorically denies the allegations and claims to be a victim of a witch hunt orchestrated by the Israeli media.

The scandals affecting the prime minister divide public opinion. But according to polls conducted by three TV channels, if the elections were held today, the Likud, the right-wing nationalist party led by Netanyahu, would get the largest number of votes.

Other coalitions have wiped out his coalition, leaving him with a tenuous majority of 61 MPs out of 120 MPs. A month ago, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party left the government because he believed that Netanyahu's reaction to Hamas rocket fire into Israeli territory was weak.

At the time, the Prime Minister, who was beginning to accumulate the files of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Health and Immigration, had badured that he did not provide for the elections for reasons of internal security. The country was even more vulnerable after US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from Syria.

However, last Monday, the argument succumbed. Netanyahu suddenly changed his mind and called for new elections, indicating that his attitude was not motivated by the fragility of the country or the coalition that supported him, but by his keen instinct for survival.

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