Has Binyamin Netanyahu lost the invincibility his 13 years in power gave him?
call him King Bibi, but the crown is slipping. Twice this year Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has gone to the country to ask voters for a clear majority. Twice they have denied him one. With almost all the votes counted from the ballot on September 17th, Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party was two seats behind Blue and White, a centrist alliance led by Benny Gantz, a former military chief.
Much will depend on how the coalition horse-trading plays out. By nosing ahead, Mr Gantz has the better claim to try to form a cabinet. But Mr Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister until another government is formed. Even if he somehow stays in office, he will be much diminished. He will have to share power with his enemies—whether Mr Gantz or, worse, Avigdor Lieberman, an ex-aide who split with him and thwarted him.
Mr Netanyahu sowed distrust of Arab citizens. He accused Arab parties of fraud; a chatbot message on his Facebook page, since withdrawn, accused them of trying “to destroy us all”. As ever, he highlighted the threat of Iran and his friendship with President Donald Trump, who recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Above all, Mr Netanyahu sought to mobilise his right-wing base, promising to annex part of the occupied West Bank if re-elected.
His potential replacement, Mr Gantz, presents himself as a warrior who wants peace, but has been worryingly vague about his policies. Do not expect him to rush into a deal with the Palestinians. A two-state peace deal, with a Palestinian state alongside Israel, may seem desirable to most of the world but appeals to only about half of Israelis. And many of them think it is unachievable right now: moderate Palestinians are too weak, and the radicals strong enough to spoil any accord.
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