Israel’s fifth election in less than four years opens on Tuesday, pitting familiar rivals against each other. None is more familiar than former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is aiming to capitalise on the current political upheaval and return to power.
As ballot boxes open in Israel on Tuesday, Israelis hope to break the political deadlock paralysing the country for the past three and a half years.
The fifth election since 2019 has seen Israel gain the dubious honour of having the highest election frequency of any parliamentary democracy in the world. Yet opinion polls are predicting another tight race. And, once again, elections are set to be dominated by former Prime Minister Netanyahu, now in the running to regain power.
His main rival is caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, a centrist currently leading the coalition who ousted Netanyahu in 2021 after 12 years as prime minister.
More than 12 months later, the prospect of voting for Netanyahu comes with baggage. He is currently embroiled in a corruption trial and is expected to unite with far-right parties in order to attempt to form a coalition government.
Even so, “Netanyahu still commands a lot of popularity, whether it’s because people still believe in his politics or they just don’t think there’s anyone else,” says Mairav Zonszein, senior analyst for Israel-Palestine at International Crisis Group in Tel Aviv.
‘Political survival’
Netanyahu’s legal troubles have been ongoing since 2019, when he was indicted for breach of trust, accepting bribes and fraud, and legally obliged to give up ministry portfolios except for his position as prime minister.
Accusations include that Netanyahu accepted expensive gifts from wealthy acquaintances, bribed an official to drop charges against his wife, and discussed legislation to harm certain national newspapers.
Yet the legal scandal…
Source : france24
