The main insight regarding the election results is clear: Israel has returned to sanity. The public is sick of extremists and extremism and signals its leaders: No more. We want normalcy. We want to live quietly. We are no longer willing to continue to be suckers of certain sectors (especially the ultra-Orthodox sector). We don’t want to quarrel with the entire world. We are willing to take chances for peace, if only we had a partner.

Three important things took place in Israel’s voting booths: A conspicuous no-confidence tipoff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A surprising vote of confidence in the inexperienced but charismatic journalist, Yair Lapid. And an unexpected tie-standoff between the right and center-left blocs. It could have been a lot more significant if Netanyahu had had a clear, genuine opponent, experienced at these kinds of elections. In such a situation, Bibi would have lost the government and gone home to Caesarea in ignominious defeat. But anti-democratic steps were taken and draconian laws passed in the Knesset [Israeli Parliament] just in time to allow Netanyahu to isolate the system from the penetration of dangerous rivals. Graduates of Israel’s defense system are now forced to wait four years before they can jump into the political pool. This has served to dry up the main repository that would enable Israel’s political system to renew and rejuvenate itself. Thus the path was paved to perpetuate the “King Bibi” regime.

But then the Israeli public stood up and determined differently. On election day, Likud’s in-depth polls predicted a collapse, down to 27-28 mandates. This would have been an inconceivable defeat. A last-minute resurgence and a vociferous, flamboyant, “Omigod” campaign minimized the damage and allowed Netanyahu to recruit a last-minute bare majority to the right-wing bloc (59 to 61 mandates out of 120). Almost the only leader who is capable of losing a campaign under such optimal conditions — without having a real rival on the playing field — is Benjamin Netanyahu. His autocratic kingship has ended, a short time after it began. Netanyahu learned the limits of power the hard way. Despite the fact that he is close to breaking Israel’s record for his years of donning the prime minister’s mantle, Bibi has been one of the least-popular prime ministers in Israeli political history. He consistently reduces Likud’s strength in elections, and is responsible for some of the most embarrassing outcomes of the ruling party.

Who is Yair Lapid? An Israeli, as the Israelis would like to believe that an Israeli should look and behave like. The average Israeli wants to be Yair Lapid, or at least marry off his daughter to him. To borrow from the “All-American” concept, Lapid is the “All-Israeli.” He has almost no formal education, but he proves that one can manage without it. He is the son of a famous journalist and successful politician, and a popular, first-rate novelist; he is a bereaved brother and the father of an autistic girl, and he invests much energy in struggles on the autism issue. Lapid became the most popular male in Israel, mainly due to the television program he presented and the popular column he wrote for the Maariv newspaper, and afterwards for Yedioth Ahronoth. His tremendous inquisitiveness, his fast reading skills and his natural intelligence have transformed him into someone who knows enough about almost everything. He may be rather shallow, and that is sometimes embarrassing, but he has enough personal charm to cover up for these slips.