His attempts to change Israel’s electoral system in order to enhance his prospects after four inconclusive elections illustrate the intensity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desperation.

After failing to obtain a 61-seat Knesset majority in the March 2020 elections, Netanyahu opted for a deal with his main rival, Blue and White party Chair Benny Gantz. Having received the goods, i.e., as soon as Gantz agreed to join his coalition, Netanyahu tried to pull the rug out from under him. He was convinced that having neutralized the threat from Blue and White, the centrist party led by three generals, the fourth elections in March 2021 would be a cakewalk. Netanyahu was wrong.

Since being defeated in 1999 after his first term and taking time off from politics, we have never been this close to the end of the Netanyahu era. In the evening hours of April 19, in a stunning Knesset upset, he lost a crucial procedural vote to the so-called bloc of change, led by Yesh Atid party Chair Yair Lapid and New Hope party Chair Gideon Saar. Arab Knesset member Mansour Abbas voted with Lapid on the control of the parliamentary Arrangement Committee, which sets the agenda of the house. Their brilliant maneuver knocked Netanyahu out for the count, although he remains in the ring. It’s not over until it’s over, but it’s the start of the end.

Netanyahu had been trying all sorts of maneuvers to reach the coalition majority he needs for composing the next government. Still, his latest ploy could prove to be one too many. Having realized he cannot mobilize a Knesset majority to form a government in the 28-day period allotted him by President Reuven Rivlin on April 5, Netanyahu went for Plan B. He suggested to his loyal sidekick — ultra-Orthodox Shas party leader Aryeh Deri — that since the current electoral system has been unable to produce a clear winner in four consecutive elections, it was time to change the system. Rather than a vote for Knesset representatives, who then form a government coalition, elections would be held directly to pick a prime minister. Whoever wins the vote and gets at least 40% of the vote would be declared prime minister, regardless of his ability to put together a stable Knesset majority.