Netanyahu's Political Style Dominates Israeli Democracy, Reshaping its Future

During the swearing-in of Israel’s new parliament, the Knesset, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advocated for a national unity government, specifically among Jewish Israelis, in an apparent bid to retain power. The opposition, which now holds a majority of seats but has not yet formed a government, responded with jeers, shouts, and walkouts. Netanyahu cited perceived internal and external threats, urging unity with the opposition bloc tasked with forming a government to succeed him. He highlighted the threat from Iran and the presence of democratically elected lawmakers who are Palestinian citizens of Israel, whom he accused, without substantiation, of aiming for Israel's destruction.

“We must do one thing – set aside every other consideration and form a national unity government. Only such a government will be able to meet challenges of this magnitude. It is impossible to handle them with a narrow government,” Netanyahu stated, referring to the possibility of a minority government, which many analysts deem likely post-coalition negotiations. He added, “I say this because here in this parliament they are seriously talking about forming a narrow government like this, a government that includes within it terror supporters, haters of Israel, or that would be dependent on them,” alluding to parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Even by the often personality-driven standards of Israeli politics, where analysts observe that personality frequently eclipses party and policy, Tuesday's session was notably contentious. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett engaged in heckling with Netanyahu, trading barbs with Netanyahu's wife, Sara, and his hard-right ally Itamar Ben-Gvir. Meanwhile, many of the Palestinian lawmakers targeted by the prime minister during his speech walked out in protest. Gadi Eisenkot, who has been given the initial opportunity to form a new government, subsequently canceled scheduled coalition talks with Netanyahu and declared him “unfit for office.”

Netanyahu has long exerted a significant influence on Israeli politics, fundamentally altering the political system to one heavily reliant on personalities. Voters tend to identify with a leader they favor before focusing on policy. Despite being a primary architect of this shift, Netanyahu is now fighting for his political survival. Should Eisenkot successfully form a viable new government—a prospect still uncertain—Netanyahu could be sidelined from power, facing a future where his corruption trial proceeds without the protections afforded by the prime minister’s office. An inquiry into his and his government's handling of the events leading up to the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, is also anticipated.

However, Netanyahu's potential departure may not signal an end to personality politics in Israel. Instead, it could represent one of his most enduring legacies, according to Roi Zur, an Israeli specialist in voting behavior and election strategies at the University of Essex. “Netanyahu Americanized the party system in Israel and made Likud a populist party,” Zur commented on the impact of the country’s longest-serving prime minister on Israel and his own party. “It is a clear case in Israel that the person at the head of the list or the head of the party is very important, and politics evolve around the head of the party,” Zur explained. “We see it in how people think about political parties or voting in general in Israel. When you ask people, ‘Who are you voting for?’, they say, ‘I vote for Netanyahu, I vote for Bennett, I vote for Eisenkot,’ whilst in the past it was ‘I vote for Likud, I vote for Labor,’ and so on.”

Dahlia Schneidlin, an American-Israeli pollster, observed that Israeli political campaigns have become increasingly personalized over recent decades, despite elections being predominantly based on party slates rather than individual candidates. This has led to many voters prioritizing personality over party affiliation. Schneidlin noted that Israel's electoral system typically results in coalition governments, requiring leaders to demonstrate “political negotiating and bargaining skills” to bring other parties into a coalition. Eisenkot, she suggested, would need to exhibit these skills rather than solely focusing on his personal appeal.

The emphasis on political personality differences over policy positions has fostered a culture where personal animosities, such as those between Netanyahu and opposition figure Avigdor Lieberman—despite their overlapping right-wing stances—contribute to a populist political environment easily grasped by a public seeking political engagement. “The stress on the personal makes everything so much worse,” stated Yossi Mekelberg, a senior fellow at Chatham House. “With party structures so centralized, leaders can become almost dictatorial and get to act without constraint. This is how it becomes possible for a prime minister to accuse 19 elected members of the Knesset of being terrorist sympathisers and nobody thinks it’s extraordinary. It’s become toxic.”