Will the Likud ever abandon Netanyahu?
Likud activists explain that unless the police reveal a smoking gun proving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took money for himself, no one in the party will challenge him.
On Feb. 13, Israel Police recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted in two cases of bribery. It is now up to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to decide whether to indict, but Netanyahu has already indicated that he will not be leaving office, even if indicted.
When Minister Tzachi Hanegbi was asked in a March 14 Army Radio interview about the fate of the government coalition if the attorney general indicts, he responded that everything would be business as usual. Hanegbi, a former justice minister, deflected the interviewer’s assumption that such a decision by Mandelblit would represent a “crisis,” terming it instead an irrelevant “crossroads” from a legal point of view. According to Hanegbi, the decision to indict would only assume significance after Netanyahu is accorded an official hearing and presented with an array of material and evidence against him. This procedure could take many months, he added.
Two days earlier, addressing about 1,000 supporters at a gathering in Petah Tikva, Hanegbi made sure to praise and bolster Netanyahu. Hanegbi’s blanket support for the prime minister, who is entangled in a series of criminal investigations, reflects the sentiment of the ruling Likud, where Netanyahu enjoys growing popularity. The latest polls clearly indicate that Netanyahu’s standing is stable, and even improving, despite suspicions of bribery.
When Netanyahu lashes out at the media, saying the people are with him, or thanks his many supporters in the Likud at every opportunity for backing him and for the love they show him and his wife, he is describing an essentially accurate state of affairs. In addition to the backing of hard-core Likud supporters, equivalent to some 15 Knesset seats, Netanyahu also enjoys broader support, on the moderate right and at the political center.
