It sounds funny now. However, just a few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, driven by deep concerns over a likely alliance between the centrist and left-wing parties, was still undecided about whether he should call for an early election. The scenario of the opposition bloc forming a unified list, larger than the Likud, that may win the upcoming election and consequently the mandate to set up the next government has become a real nightmare for Netanyahu.
Having once experienced a most painful defeat — when he lost the premiership to Ehud Barak in 1999 after the center-left parties joined forces against him at the very last minute and beat him at the ballot box by a wide margin — his fears of a replay of such a scenario featuring a unified center-left coalition is quite understandable.