As mnr. Netanyahu does retain his post, he is expected to force a showdown with the judiciary. For years, the Israeli right has seen the Supreme Court as an elitist, activist institution that undermines the will of the electorate. His defenders say it protects democratic norms and does his best to stay out of the political battle.
In December, Mr. Netanyahu announced that he intends to curb the influence of the court, calling for ‘updated arrangements regarding the limits of the rule of law’. and promised that his party would ordain them as soon as it was able. Without the limitations of his former coalition partners, Mr. Netanyahu is implementing that plan.
The election was held against the background of a deep political barrier, with the current cabinet so dysfunctional that it could not agree on a state budget for two consecutive years, nor the appointment of key civil servants, including the public prosecutor and the senior officials at the Ministries of Justice and Finance.
The vote followed a campaign aimed at the suitability of Mr. Netanyahu himself, rather than on more existential or ideological questions such as the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or how to bridge the divide between secular and religious Israelis.
Mr Netanyahu has presented himself as the only candidate capable of deterring what many Israelis see as the threats to Iran. He also tried to distinguish himself as a statesman who cemented diplomatic relations with four Arab states and brought a leading-edge vaccination program to Israel, which helped the country recently achieve something closer to normal life.
It was a message that resonated with many voters.
“Bibi is the only leader in this country in my eyes,” said Elad Shnezik, a 24-year-old foreign exchange trader who voted in Likur in Tzur Hadassah, a suburb west of Jerusalem. “I have never seen anything bad in his actions. Everything he does, he does for the people. ”
The opponents of mr. Netanyahu presents himself as a threat to the rule of law and as a liability that cannot govern effectively due to the diversion of his criminal trial. His efforts to position himself as a diplomatic pioneer were thwarted in the last days of the campaign, after a planned photo opportunity in Abu Dhabi led by the United Arab Emirates expired amid Emirati frustration over its use as’ n stut in mnr. Netanyahu’s re-election campaign.