General Benny Gantz was to be entrusted with the arduous task of forming a government in Israel on Monday, March 16, which would end more than ten years of the mandate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A short majority of parliamentarians elected on March 2 had recommended Sunday, President Réouven Rivlin to appoint him. The latter announced in a press release his intention to do so.
In a historic gesture, the fifteen Arab Knesset deputies joined this alliance of opportunity, in favor of the training chief Bleu Blanc. This was not to be taken for granted: when entering politics a year ago, this former chief of the military staff boasted heavily of having fired "Part of Gaza in the Stone Age" in the summer of 2014, during the last major conflict in the Palestinian enclave. Last week, the leader of the united list, Ayman Odeh, still estimated with the World that Mr. Gantz had run a campaign "Racist" for the legislative elections of March 2. He had cut off all contact when the general launched himself into a nationalist bid to attract, without success, right-wing voters whom he hoped were tired of Mr. Netanyahu.
The leaders of Bleu Blanc had promised to rely only on one "Jewish majority" or "Zionist" to form a government, but Mr. Gantz had no majority without the Arabs. Leading the legislative elections, with 36 seats out of 120, Mr. Netanyahu has multiplied against them attacks of unprecedented violence in recent days.
Israeli political cauldron
On this Sunday, the Israeli political cauldron produced a second alliance hitherto unknown: Avidgor Lieberman, boss of the small ultranationalist group Israel Beitenou (six seats), resolved to in turn recommend Mr. Gantz, by lining up alongside the left and Arab deputies – its "Enemies", he reminded President Rivlin. "The most important thing was to avoid a fourth election", he believes, after the April and September 2019 elections, which did not lead to a majority.
The one that emerged on Sunday is unstable, however. Mr. Gantz will be hard pressed to keep it in the new phase of negotiations which opens. It is out of the question for these parties to sit together in government: only their opposition to Mr. Netanyahu brings them together. Mr. Gantz is not even guaranteed to keep his own movement, Blue White, in good working order until a vote of confidence essential to the Knesset.
