Raking over the coalition
The Hebrew papers wonder if Netanyahu will assemble an alternative coalition before Monday, as the politicking grows more fierce
Marissa Newman is The Times of Israel political correspondent.
With election season on the horizon, two of the three national dailies — Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth — on Friday feature front-page political cartoons of the members of the coalition beating each other mercilessly to a pulp, a harbinger of the likely brutal and ugly political maneuvering to come.
Both Israel Hayom and Haaretz dedicate much of their coverage to last-minute, behind-the-scenes efforts to replace the governing coalition ahead of Monday’s second and third readings that would move to formally dissolve the Knesset. Yedioth, by contrast, leads its news coverage with a piece urging the one-third of the population that does not generally vote to get out to the polls come election day.
Israel Hayom reports that the ultra-Orthodox parties have confirmed that they had been approached with an offer to join the coalition, which will likely be met with opposition by Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who has been fiercely opposed to such a measure. However, rumor has it that Liberman may have changed his mind, the paper asserts.
“According to various sources, there has been a change to Liberman’s position on the matter, which may allow the process to move forward,” the paper reports, adding that “the wave of rumors floated through the political system, right and left, but no one has managed to confirm or refute this.”
The paper also addresses a senior Likud member’s alleged attempt to split up Yesh Atid, but characterizes it as “rumors,” and highlights the prime minister’s denial of his involvement.
Haaretz takes a more definitive stance, reporting that the opposition and coalition members are “convinced” Netanyahu is attempting to rustle up an alternative coalition before Monday’s vote.
“I have no doubts that up until the last moment, Netanyahu will try to forge an alternative coalition rather than going to elections,” a senior Yesh Atid member told the paper on Thursday. “Netanyahu has the opportunity to remain in his position for three years without elections, so why would he risk losing his reign, and embark on this dangerous adventure?”
Haaretz’s Yossi Verter argues that Netanyahu’s decision to dissolve the coalition and fire finance minister Yair Lapid and justice minister Tzipi Livni was not due to the so-called attempted “putsch” or Livni’s clandestine meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas months ago, as argued by the prime minister, but rather the advancement of the bill on November 12 that aims to shut down the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom.
“According to sources in the know, this is the day the fate of the coalition was sealed. Netanyahu broke off contact with Lapid… he made no effort (and as stated, no great effort was needed) to solve the fights over the budget. In practice, he ceased to be the prime minister with everything pertaining to preserving his coalition. He also met less frequently with Liberman and Livni,” he writes.
Israel Hayom features a poll of its readers on the upcoming elections, which shows the Likud party receiving 22 seats; 16 for the right-wing Jewish Home party; 13 for ex-Likud MK Moshe Kahlon’s unnamed party; 12 for Labor; 10 for Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beytenu; 8 for both ultra-Orthodox parties — Shas and United Torah Judaism — respectively; 6 for the left-wing Meretz party; 5 for the Hadash party; 4 for Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua and the Arab Ra’am Ta’al party; and two seats for Arab party Balad.
Nearly a quarter of respondents maintained that Netanyahu was the most suitable candidate for prime minister (24%), followed by Labor party leader Isaac Herzog (11%), and Livni (9%). Liberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett tied at 6%, as did former finance minister Yair Lapid and Kahlon at 5%.
Some 65% of participants said Lapid’s zero tax bill on apartments would not lower housing costs, and 49% said elections were necessary at this point, while 42% said they were not.
Over at Yedioth, the paper does not question whether elections will be held, focusing instead on how to convince the politically weary one-third of the Israeli public who are likely to opt out of voting on election day to hit the polls.
The percentage of the Israeli population who vote dropped significantly in the 2001 elections (from 78.7% to 62.3%), and since then has wavered between a 62% and 68% turnout.
Dr. Ofer King of the Israel Democracy Institute tells the paper: “People refrain from voting when there is a sense of being tired of politics, and when it’s not clear why there are even elections. The crisis of confidence in politicians may convince people to stay home, as well as a situation where people think that the results are known in advance.”
In an op-ed for Yedioth, Nechama Douek calls on the 35% of non-voters, primarily young voters and Israeli Arabs, to head to the polls and have their voices heard.
“Those young people who are asked to don an [army] uniform and die for the state, must vote, and make the Knesset properly representative of the population. Or Israeli Arabs — their voting numbers stand at slightly above 50%, compared to the ultra-Orthodox’s more than 90%. Just by going to the polls and raising the number of voters, Israeli Arabs and the Israeli youth can bring about a dramatic change to the political system,” she writes.
