This government has run out its time. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck โ you know. And if one clichรฉ isn't enough, we'll add another: this duck is a lame one.
The more days pass, the clearer the picture becomes: MKs whose goal isn't to fight the coronavirus epidemic in Israel are gathered around the table of the Corona cabinet. Like them or not, when we had a transitional government, it seems as if ministers like Naftali Bennett or Aryeh Deri or Yakov Litzman were all directing their ministries against the coronavirus. We miss the transitional government, in which the voice of the attorney general was not strangled. Not one of the Blue and White minister is showing signs of energy in general, let alone when it comes to corona.
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The heads of Blue and White came in without political experience, but is it too much to expect a little productiveness from people who managed to reach the top rank in the IDF? The growing impression is that eventually, we're talking about a culture of giving and taking orders, rather than shaping policy, and maybe even acting in the interests of other players. This is how the concept of applying sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and settlements in Judea and Samaria was thwarted, and how the idea of instituting some alterations, if not wide-ranging reform, to law enforcement was shot down. The Foreign Ministry and the person in charge of it are making supporters of Obama's nuclear deal proud, and the former head of the Histadrut Labor Federation is directing his ministry according to the code of action of a virtual, but powerful party.
The concerns of many Likud supporters and other members of the national camp were justified. This isn't working, and the cost they paid didn't come with any advantage in the national battle against corona. The opposite: everything has become petty and awkward.
All this means one thing: it is time to break it all down. If the one-year budget doesn't pass by the end of August, we hold an election. That's one option, which should frighten us, but we could also avoid it. There is also the option of axing the law for the rotation of prime ministers, which would require 70 votes, and there is good reason to believe that Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid will want to be a partner in a move that will effectively destroy the political standing of both Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi. A third option would be a vote of "constructive" no confidence, in which 61 MKs would vote for an agreed-upon candidate for prime minister. It would be hard, but when weighed against fourth election โ it's possible.
And there is a fourth option, too, which is in Gantz's hands. If he sees the battle against coronavirus and restoring political stability as important, he should admit that having two leaders who have mutual veto power isn't working. Even he can't serve as prime minister without true governability. So everyone should give up on personal concerns, dump the rotation, and agree on a new election when the corona crisis is over. The government that will be in power until that time will be based on fairness: Blue and White will need to compromise on core issues, based on their relative size in the coalition, and the Likud will have to take quite a few steps in Blue and White's direction.
Remember, the criticism being voiced applies to Gantz, as well, and he isn't surrounded by a bloc that gives him power and legitimacy. He could serve as defense minister, with a halo of public support, and it's likely that his stock would rise in a government that could make that happen.
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