It was clear on Monday that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had no other choice but to call for early elections, but despite being dragged into it, he handled the situation with aplomb, which was refreshing.
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Given the mayhem and mud-slinging that usually accompany this process in Israeli politics, in which all red lines are crossed and common decency is made redundant, the fact that Bennett issued the government's death certificate in a respectable manner was both a symbol and a message.
The only real surprise following Monday's announcement was the realization that the coalition actually made it through an entire year. This was a government of conflicting forces, cobbled together on the assumption that its parts would maintain a status quo in favor of the whole – and in favor of restoring normalcy.
Surprisingly, the government was able to do more. It turned out to be more proactive and right-wing than all of former PM Benjamin Netanyahu's governments combined, but its ability to keep its members in check ended months ago, as evident by Yamina MK Idit Silman's decision to gladly surrender to those who maligned her, Meretz MK Ghaida Zoabi and Ra'am MK Mazen Ghnaim's Palestinian angst, and Yamina MK Nir Orbach's political ploys.
This was not a political experiment. There is nothing connecting Meretz and Labor on the one hand and Yamina and New Hope on the other, so this coalition was an experiment in the sense that jumping from the fifth floor of a burning building is an experiment. When there is no other choice, you take a leap that under normal circumstances would make no sense. But lo and behold – contrary to the incitement campaign by Netanyahu and his loyalists, one year later Israel is actually doing better than it did after Operation Guardian of the Walls, which came at the end of Netanyahu's term in office.
This, however, was a short respite and a rude political awakening has landed us back in the real world, where we are facing another round of political warfare.
The challenge here is the votes of the "real" Right – voters who don't follow leaders or rabbis, but rather the ideology. So far, the polls show that Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar have failed to secure these votes. They haven't made their success under impossible circumstances clear enough.
Delivering what was at times an emotional address calling for elections, Bennett still focused on one key message – unity. This has been his mission over the past year, having to hold a motley crew coalition together, but unity makes for a poor election platform.
As for the pro-Netanyahu camp – even if they manage to get the 61 MKs necessary to form a coalition it would be even more unruly than the one about to disband.
Anyone who thinks he has 61 mandates in his pocket could end up right where we are today – dragged behind a leader who refuses to step aside and would rather crush the Right and force all of us into another unnecessary election campaign.
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