So wrote Rogel Alpher in his Haaretz “opinion “piece published June 21, 2020.
The headline for the article reads:
“Unstoppable, Indestructible, Endless Bibi”
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-unstoppable-indestructible-endless-bibi-1.8937223
And the full opening paragraph to this excellent piece reads:
“Let us soberly internalize that Benjamin Netanyahu is going to be prime minister as long as he wants, and he wants to until the day he dies. He’s soaring in the polls, clearly won’t uphold the rotation agreement with Benny Gantz, and has numerous political options.”
I have an avid appreciation for fine writing, that entertaining, informative, and a joy to read. If only I could emulate such prose?
For numerous Israelis, Rogel Alpher’s article is a timely, thought-proving insight for what to many is a democratically elected dictator. Yes I know, the words “democratically elected dictator” do not jive together.
And for many millenniums, Benjamin Netanyahu is the only prime minister they have known. Yes, I know the statement is not accurate, that both Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert had short spells at the helm, but the fact remains that Netanyahu has held power for most of the last twenty years.
I have suggested in the past that Netanyahu will take a page from the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's songbook, (Vladimir Putin has already done the same in Russia) and force some sort of constitutional crises and in short, order assume executive powers. My notion has been poo-pooed as being outlandish, particularly as Israel does not have a constitution and that neither the police nor the army would support such a move.
And yet, the current coronavirus outbreak coupled with a so-called unity government and the idea of a Jordan Valley land-grab does offer Netanyahu the opportunity to move, with the backing of certain members of his rightwing block, and assume provisionally executive powers which, he could consolidate in the future.
Far fetched, maybe, likely to happen, who knows.