“Extricating Israel from its crisis” was the title of the economic plan presented on Aug. 3 by opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was pointing to a series of charts on the screen behind him, like a lecturing economics professor. Netanyahu, gearing up for the Nov. 1 elections that could return him to power, took advantage of the steep rise in the cost of living in recent months to lash out at the government of caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid and present an alternative.

Reports at the end of June signaled that the price of gasoline was fast approaching its all-time record high of NIS 8.25 per liter one decade ago. Last month, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics announced that housing prices continued to rise to record levels, jumping 15.9% over the past year. And there are other examples.

Polling and in-depth research conducted on Netanyahu’s behalf in recent weeks point to the surging cost of living, stemming in part from the war in Ukraine, as the issue of the greatest concern to Israeli voters. Netanyahu is also associated in many voters’ minds with economic success stemming from his 2003 term as finance minister, when he allegedly extricated the economy from one of its deepest crises.

Netanyahu’s economic focus is an interesting departure in a country where elections are traditionally decided by security-related issues. The head of the opposition appears to believe that he has a distinct advantage in economic issues over his two leading rivals, incumbent Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.