Judging by what people are saying in the Likud Party’s dozens of internal WhatsApp groups, one year into the first term of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, his status is sound. Despite the intifada by individuals, the ongoing deterioration of personal security and a housing crisis that defies resolution, Likud members believe that Netanyahu is the only person who can keep the party in power for another term.
Nevertheless, on March 24 the Israeli daily Haaretz presented a potential political scenario that could reshuffle the deck by shifting Likud voters to a new party. The Haaretz article hypothesized about a party headed by former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, current Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and former Minister Gideon Saar of Likud. The poll assessed the strength of this virtual party and found that if elections were held today, it would win 23 seats, whereas Likud would win only 22. The new party would be able to block Netanyahu from forming a government.
The poll and the headlines accompanying it have created quite a buzz, especially among the media and politicians. Meanwhile, Likud activists were not terribly upset. What was interesting about the poll was not the rising power of a soft right imaginary party, but the effort to cobble together a political leadership that in reality could never pose an alternative to Netanyahu. In this particular instance, there is no possibility for such a scenario to unfold although the three men mentioned are on friendly terms. Furthermore, the need to invent a party leadership that can face off against Netanyahu only underscores the current reality: There is no real alternative to Netanyahu in his party or outside of it.
What highlights the leadership vacuum even more is that the virtual party being presented as potentially able to take down Netanyahu has three heads, not one. Parties have a leader, and instead of a single figure who stands out and sweeps crowds along with him, there is a group of potentially talented individuals at the head of the imaginary party. This reflects the sad reality that there is no significant alternative to Netanyahu as prime minister, at least at present. Parties always need a singular leader who could take them through elections.
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