Yamina MK Amichai Chikli is the Israeli Right's new hero. Young, handsome charismatic, intelligent and to top all that – unyielding on his principles. He's a former combat officer with a winning smile and a background in education. The true salt of the earth.
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Since being elected to parliament in the last elections, Chikli has been trolling the coalition on a daily basis.
Wearing his cloak of values, he flies toward the next social media post and TV studios that are all too happy to host the brave, fearless rebel. He may vote with Yamina and the coalition, but his voice is the voice of the opposition. The bearer of the banner of public courage, integrity and courage, he personifies the values Yamina purports to champion and everyone else – including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, are merely a faded imitation.
But MK Chikli does not split from the coalition to form a one-man faction. Instead, he walks the Knesset halls as a member of Yamina, enjoying the benefits and privileges offers as part of being a member of the ruling party.
In his view, voting against the budget and routinely countering the coalition is perfectly legitimate. Like any superhero, he too has a cape that protects him and it makes no difference what insignia it bears as long as no can fly.
Holding on to one's opinions and principles is all well and good and exciting, but when you are not willing to pay a price for your principles and continue to act as if everything is allowed, it is opportunism.
Chikli claims that he has refused tempting offers from Bennett only to continue to adhere to his principles. What he neglects to say is that even if he actually musters the courage to serve as an independent MK, he will not be able to run in the next election as part of any existing faction and as a result, he has no chance of joining Likud.
That's what it's all about really. The fear of play both ends against the middle and losing. It is clear that of Chikli makes an independent bid for parliament he has absolutely no chance of crossing the four-seat electoral threshold. Thousands of "likes" on social media are nice for one's ego but translating them into actual ballots is hard work.
Many MKs took the plunge and formed a one-man faction, among them David Ben-Gurion, Yosef Paritzky, and most recently, Orly Levy-Abekasis, who can certainly teach a class on political opportunism. But none of them dared act as Chikli does.
No, Chikli continues to walk a dubious line that allows him to enjoy the image of a rebel with integrity without jeopardizing his political future. Chikli can yell that the emperor has no clothes all he wants, but maybe it's time someone around him reminds him that he, too, is in the buff.
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