The Likud's campaign slogan, “Netanyahu: Right. Strong. Gantz: Left. Weak,” is well chosen. It sounds great in speeches and looks good on billboards. Every Israeli voter knows that strong is good for the Jews and weak is good for the Arabs. In other words, “It’s Tibi or Bibi,” the slogan Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coined recently, juxtaposing his nickname with the popular head of the Ta’al party, Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi. The subtext is obvious: Netanyahu protects us from the Iranian enemy and defends us against Palestinian terrorism. Netanyahu has adopted the attitude “Happy are those who are continually fearful,” attributed in the Bible to the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon.

The March 14 rockets fired from Gaza at Tel Aviv and Iran’s alleged phone hack of Netanyahu’s chief rival, Blue and White Party head Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, gave Netanyahu's angle further support, as did the March 17 terror attack that killed two Israelis near the West Bank town of Ariel.

There is no formal data on the link between the Netanyahu government’s foreign and defense policy and the loss of life in terror attacks. Nor is there a way to validate the claim that were it not for Netanyahu, Iran would have succeeded in developing a nuclear bomb and firing it at Tel Aviv. And when lives are at stake, who wants to futz around with quality of life? As Netanyahu said in 2015 in response to the state comptroller’s harsh criticism of the government’s handling of the housing crisis: “When we talk about the price of housing, about the cost of living, I don't forget life itself for a single moment.”

The amorphous, demagogic discourse about “life itself” along with the discussion of Netanyahu’s probity and personality distract from his crushing failure on the economic front. Although this failure is easily quantified, it has been shoved to the margins of the election agenda. Speaking with Al-Monitor this week, economist Avichai Snir noted that under the Kadima government led by Ehud Olmert from 2006 to 2008, real GDP grew an average of 4.98% annually. Before Netanyahu’s ascent to office in 2009, GDP was in a rapid climb, noted the lecturer from Bar-Ilan University and the Netanya Academic College. Netanyahu’s government has managed to maintain growth but its rate has slowed by almost 30%.