Is Netanyahu’s coalition on the verge collapse?

Is the Netanyahu coalition nearing its end? That seems the be the feeling among the parties comprising the government, at least according to senior coalition sources. The public atmosphere, the Saturday evening anti-corruption protests in Tel Aviv, the investigations against the prime minister which will likely be concluded soon with a police recommendation to indict him, and the fact that almost three years have passed since the last elections—all these factors are completely disrupting the coalition’s work.

The recently launched investigation against the coalition’s engine, Knesset Member David Bitan, isn’t adding to its longevity either. Bitan spends most of his days undergoing difficult interrogations at the National Crime Unit’s Lahav 443 offices. The last thing he is interested in at the moment is solving another political imbroglio in the coalition.

Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Knesset on the night the ‘supermarket bill’ passed its first reading (Photo: Yoav Dudkevich)

A number of events that have taken place in the political system this week point to the magnitude of the crisis. Take MK Sharren Haskal of Likud, for example. Most of you have likely never heard of her until now, but this week the anonymous lawmaker was urgently summoned to the office of none other than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The reason for the urgent invitation was Netanyahu’s fear that Haskal would avoid supporting the controversial “supermarkets bill,” which would allow the interior minister to cancel municipal bylaws and order the closure of businesses on Shabbat. And so, a Knesset member who Netanyahu possibly wouldn’t even recognize on the street got an official meeting with the prime minister.

Netanyahu, by the way, arrived at the Knesset straight from Ben-Gurion Airport, after returning from his trip to Europe, and was spotted singlehandedly helping his coalition gather votes to pass the bill in its first reading. This is what a collapse looks like.

Haskal isn’t the only one who isn’t following coalition orders and is already thinking about the next primary elections. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri had to threaten to resign from the government this week if the ‘supermarkets bill’ wouldn’t be approved.

Deri isn’t interested in elections, of course. His Shas party has been doing very poorly in the polls, which means elections could lead to his retirement. Moreover, he is under a major police investigation and serious suspicions which have the potential of destroying his political career for a second time.

From left to right, clockwise: Ministers Avigdor Lieberman, Aryeh Deri, Moshe Kahlon, Yisrael Katz and Gilad Erdan (Photos: Yaron Brener, Alex Kolomoisky, Ohad Zwigenberg, AFP)

So why did Deri threaten to resign despite his critical political situation? He likely realized too that without an explicit threat, the ‘supermarkets bill’ wouldn’t necessarily pass. And when an important coalition partner has to put a gun on the table to pass a law, it’s pretty obvious that no good is going to come out of Netanyahu's coalition anymore. The other senior coalition members, who have also begun smelling a dissolution in the air, have each entered a combat mood. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who called an urgent press conference this week to announce his tax reductions plan, seemed to enjoy handing out money to the public. Moreover, he understands that the value of every shekel at this explosive political time is worth almost as much as Bitcoin—much more than can be estimated right now, in real time. Likud Ministers Yisrael Katz and Gilad Erdan followed in his footsteps, producing festive press conferences or announcing bonuses. And so did Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who—after a long period of serving as the government’s moderate and responsible adult—pulled out an old typical Lieberman statement and called for a boycott of the Wadi Arab communities, reclaiming his favorite position in the political game.

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