Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is undoubtedly a unique phenomenon in the annals of Israeli politics. For years he has been alone at the top, without a political rival to threaten his hegemony as prime minister.

On the eve of the Jewish New Year, he can look around in satisfaction to find that he still has no potential rivals for leadership of the state. For more than four years, since the 2009 elections, Netanyahu has been the only contender for the post of prime minister. In fact, the last time he ran in a tight race against another candidate for the job was during those elections, when Tzipi Livni, then leader of the Kadima Party [and now Justice Minister], raked in 28 Knesset seats — one more than Netanyahu — but was unable to put together a coalition government. Livni’s political downfall put an end to her chances as a leadership hopeful, and she left the field.

Since then, Netanyahu has been without a significant rival. True, in the last elections, in January 2013, the chairwoman of the Labor Party, Knesset member Shelly Yachimovitch, acted as if she were running against him, but in actual fact, it was no contest. Yachimovitch, unlike Livni in 2009, was not perceived as someone who had what it takes to be prime minister. Lacking experience in diplomacy and defense, and with a one-dimensional economic-social agenda, she was not regarded by the Israeli public as a real alternative.

On the other hand, the "hero" of the last elections, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid, did not even presume to replace Netanyahu, but hinted ahead of time that he would join his government. After the elections, he announced in a televised interview that he assumed he would be prime minister, but he then regretted the remark. The only one in politics who has experience in diplomacy and defense and could have, presumably, challenged Netanyahu’s leadership in the last elections was Kadima Chairman Shaul Mofaz. His political failures and the lack of public appreciation, however, left him out of the game.