As the Jewish state celebrates 75 years of its independence (proclaimed on May 14, 1948), a historic turning point seems to be beginning in the political evolution of the country. After fifteen years at the helm of Israel, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who returned to power on December 29, 2022, is showing the first signs of weakening.
During the three decades he spent in Israeli politics as an MP, minister and prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu built a solid brand, more resilient than that of David Ben-Gurion (founder of the State of Israel and first head of government in its history, editor’s note) whose political longevity he beat. Designated by the neologism “bibisme”, shortened from its first name, this “brand” will constitute a new ideology which will dominate the Israeli political spectrum, a mixture of nationalism and liberalism, accompanied by a good dose of populism and tempted by messianism.
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Genius of communication, Benyamin Netanyahou will become a political icon, in Israel as in certain international media which will not hesitate to present him as the “king of Israel”. But the Netanyahu of 2023 has changed his image. In his public speeches, he appears tired and helpless; quite the opposite of the portrait of a charismatic man, strong and sure of himself, that he had built over the years. By presenting its plan for judicial reform, the most right-wing government in Israel’s history succeeded in shifting public debate; the right-left opposition, which had gradually become a debate “for or against Netanyahu”, underwent a new metamorphosis. Now it is the “for or against democracy” controversy that dominates the protests and for which Netanyahu was unprepared.
Building an icon
Upon entering Israeli politics in November 1988 as a member of the Knesset (the Parliament of the Hebrew State), Binyamin Netanyahu has taken care to forge a brand and embellish it from year to year, in particular from 1996 when he will become, for the first time, Prime Minister of Israel. Coming from a right-wing militant family and an American culture, Netanyahu will inaugurate a mode of governance still unknown in Israel: thanks to his perfect mastery of the media and his talents as a speaker, he will be able to harangue the crowds to rally them to “Bibianism”. praising his political action as well as his know-how in economic and diplomatic matters.
Binyamin Netanyahu will not hesitate to address his audience over the heads of the mass media which were critical of him and with whom he will maintain a tumultuous relationship for a long time. Over the years, Netanyahu’s “brand” has been built on the basis of his absolute identification with the state, in accordance with the formula attributed to Louis XIV: “l’Etat, c’est moi”. But it is precisely the identification of Netanyahu’s personal interests with the public interest that will cause the decline of his brand at the beginning of 2023.
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Paradoxically perhaps, Netanyahu will often be seen as a moderate leader of the right-wing bloc. To establish his power and ensure his political longevity, he has always shown unfailing opportunism. He will not hesitate to associate himself with political parties far removed from the values of the liberal and secular right embodied by the Likud; he will never close the door to an alliance with the left, the center left and the center right, passing through the religious right and Jewish orthodoxy, giving himself the appearance of a leader loved by his people. Netanyahu’s opportunist strategy will lead him to delegitimize the opponents of his regime while “bibism” will take on the appearance of populism which, as in other countries, will reinforce authoritarianism and the personalization of power.
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During his public appearances, his physical appearance will become more important than the political message, while developing an exacerbated narcissism. His very personal power will be organized around the cult of personality and will also become a family power; his third wife Sara and their eldest son Yaïr will enjoy a decisive influence on his decision-making, in particular with the aim of perpetuating his power as long as possible. Friend of billionaires and big bosses, Netanyahu will share with his family an ostentatious luxury which will lead him in particular to accusations of corruption and abuse of power.
Bibi loses control of its brand
By taking the lead of a far-right coalition at the end of December 2022, Benyamin Netanyahu moved away from his “brand” to go into “survival mode”. To resume – after eighteen months of absence – the reins of executive power, he will not hesitate to distribute key positions in his government (such as Finance and National Security) to ministers, some of whom admit to being racist. and proud of it. It will even go so far as to satisfy all the demands (budgetary and political) presented by its government partners, losing its ability to negotiate, or even to refuse certain demands that it deemed inadequate.
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By allying himself with extremist parties, Netanyahu will no doubt have thought that there was a similarity of interests between all the partners of a government coalition firmly anchored on the right, in particular in the desire to control the judicial system and the media. . Very quickly, the Israeli Prime Minister will appear as a balanced leader, leaving the parliamentary agenda set by the deputies on his right. He will lose his authority and his leadership, accelerating the decline of the Netanyahu “brand”. It has thus alienated many segments of Israeli society, not to mention the international community.
Taken aback, Netanyahu misjudged the impact of judicial reform on public opinion. This time, and contrary to other reforms he has carried out in the past (particularly economic reforms), he has not devoted enough of his persuasive skills, nor of his time to explaining the need for reform Justice. His main priority was to form his sixth government, whatever the cost. When he took the measure of the popular protest against a reform considered anti-democratic by his detractors, he realized his mistake but it was too late to backtrack. He will decide on a simple pause in the continuation of the legislative process, while his partners in the government coalition (extreme right, religious Zionism and Orthodox Jews) are determined to carry the reform through to completion and without major substantive changes.
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The beginning of the decline of the Netanyahu “brand” also corresponds to the societal evolution of the country. In 2023, a large section of the Israeli population aspires to be led by a leader who would work to improve their standard and quality of life (in particular by fighting against poverty and the high cost of living) and not by a leader who loses the contact with daily reality and works only for its political survival. Now Netanyahu is increasingly seen by his people as a leader who has spent too long in power and refuses to hand over. A leader who sincerely, but wrongly, thinks that the interest of the state merges with his personal interests or, in other words, that it is in Israel’s interest that he stay in power.
Ability to bounce back
Throughout his political career, Netanyahu faced numerous political and parliamentary crises; he has experienced ups and downs which have led him sometimes to crossing the desert, sometimes to resounding returns. Admittedly, the political context of 2023 is very different from that which has prevailed over the past twenty years; nevertheless, Netanyahu has always succeeded in thwarting the forecasts which gave him the loser in the legislative elections, or even which announced his political death.
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His political career at the top of the state really began in 1996 when he became, at 46, the youngest head of government in the country’s history; against all odds, he will beat in the direct elections for the post of Prime Minister Labor Shimon Peres who had called for early elections following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. In the legislative elections of 1999, the Likud led by Netanyahu will suffer a bitter failure with only 19 seats in Parliament, which has 120 (compared to 32 mandates during the previous legislature); he will resign from the Knesset and take a break from political life for three years. The Likud led by Ariel Sharon will come back in force in the 2003 legislative elections with 38 seats in the Knesset; Netanyahu will be appointed Minister of Finance, a position he will occupy for two years which will be decisive in the establishment and expansion of the “bibiste” ideology in economic and social matters. After the deterioration of Prime Minister Sharon’s health, the Likud led by Netanyahu suffered one of the worst defeats in its history, obtaining only 12 parliamentary mandates in the 2006 legislative elections.
While many observers considered that Netanyahu was definitively excluded from political life, he will come back in force; after a break of ten years, Binyamin Netanyahou will begin his second term as Prime Minister in March 2009 and will remain in power for twelve consecutive years. The opening of his trial for corruption in May 2020 then the formation in June 2021 of the government led alternately by Naftali Bennett and Yaïr Lapid reduced his chances of returning to power; but his determination and his ability to bounce back will allow him to take over the reins of the executive in December 2022.
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The year 2023, which corresponds to the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Jewish state, could therefore mark the beginning of the end of the Netanyahu era, but nothing is certain: if a decline of the Netanyahu “brand” is noticeable in recent months, the Israeli Prime Minister has displayed record longevity and may not have said his last word.
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BIO EXPRESS
Jacques Bendelac, Franco-Israeli, Doctor of Economics from the University of Paris-II, is a researcher in social sciences in Jerusalem. He is the author of numerous essays, including “The Netanyahu Years, Israel’s Great Turn” (Editions l’Harmattan, 2022).
