"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you," author Joseph Heller wrote in his famous novel, "Catch-22." By this logic, it stands to reason that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent theory, by which he wins the next elections but President Reuven Rivlin tasks someone else with forming the government, is not completely unfounded. In fact, it is a very plausible scenario.
Obviously, if such a scheme is in the works, once push comes to shove, mainstream media will back it up, with pundits articulating at length the many reasons why former Likud minister Gideon Sa'ar is more qualified than Netanyahu to form said government.
Netanyahu knows that when it comes to the nitty-gritty of politics, logic or even the will of the public carry little weight compared to the media's overall agenda, so why would he risk it?
The big question is what will Sa'ar do next, now that he has found himself under attack in what is a politically sensitive time for him. Sa'ar has recently been trying to make his way back into the heart of the Likud consensus, after exiting politics in 2014.
In recent weeks he has been backing Netanyahu in the media and flattering him whenever possible, leading some to think that the tensions between him and the prime minister, which many attributed at the time to his abrupt decision to retire from politics, were a thing of the past.
This may have helped Sa'ar's potential comeback, but one short statement from Netanyahu on Wednesday, referring to a "former senior Likud member" who was now "engaged in subversive activities" turned Sa'ar into a political enemy.
From now on, anyone associated with Sa'ar will be labeled in a similar fashion. From now own, Sa'ar is not just a petty troublemaker or a sharp-tongued critic. From now on, he and Rivlin stand accused of the most serious offense a Likud member can face – trying to promote a putsch against the party's leader.
It is hard to see Sa'ar overcoming this predicament and rallying supporters who would be willing to publicly back him. Moreover, it is hard to see him and Netanyahu mend fences to the point where Netanyahu may appoint him a minister in his next government, which will certainly put a damper on his plans for staging a comeback.
Still, Likud minister will have to consider the following: Netanyahu is the most popular political figure in Israel, but with police investigations and potential indictments looming, his next term in office will be extra sensitive. For this reason, getting Sa'ar out of the way may only be the beginning and the process of "cleaning house" in the Likud will now begin.
