Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is having a very bad week.
On Thursday, the man who will lead his party into this April’s general election met a prosecutor’s decision to indict him in relation to three separate corruption cases. Netanyahu came out swinging against all the charges, saying they are politically motivated and without merit. Still, there’s no question that the prime minister is in a newly precarious position. Although court proceedings are likely a year away at least, Netanyahu’s credibility has taken a hit.
What makes matters worse, however, is that this hit joins other negative news for Netanyahu this week. Namely, the increasing momentum of a new coalition of centrist politicians standing against him in the election. Led by former Israeli Defense Force commander Benny Gantz and a former journalist, Yair Lapid, the so-called “Blue and White” coalition now has a real chance of beating out Netanyahu’s Likud party. And while Netanyahu remains personally popular, the indictments on his name will help the energetic Gantz-Lapid coalition present the prime minister as damaged and overdue for retirement.
It gets worse. Because Netanyahu has also scored an error of his own making. Deciding to work alongside two far-right political parties in election campaigning, Netanyahu has jeopardized Likud’s support with independent voters who might otherwise support the party.
The cumulative impact of these various issues is such that Netanyahu now not only appears increasingly vulnerable, but also far less inspiring a leader. A former trooper with one of Israel’s finest special forces units, Sayeret Matkal, Netanyahu has the skill to survive. But the odds of his doing so are increasingly poor.
