Countdown to Israeli election: will Netanyahu prevail?
Israel will elect a new parliament on 27 October. The vote will determine the future of the right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led the country on and off in multiple tenures since 1996. Netanyahu's Likud party has been governing in a coalition with ultra-Orthodox partners since 2022. The media take a look at the heated election campaign.
A heated campaign fuelled by contentious issues
Former diplomat Andreas Papastavrou writes on the news website TVXS:
“The current election campaign is particularly fierce, and not exactly characterised by fairness. The massacre of 7 October 2023 left an indelible mark on Israel and massively exacerbated tensions. The country has not yet come to terms with it, and this weighs unbearably on the citizens of Israel. It remains to be seen who will be held accountable. The key issues in the election are above all: a) national security, namely Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, and the parliamentary inquiry into events in Gaza; b) the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into military service, given that the army is in urgent need of personnel; and c) the economy, because the costs of the war are very high.”
At a crossroads
This election day will be a fateful one for Netanyahu, writes Der Tagesspiegel:
“This is the first nationwide vote since the Hamas massacre three years ago. ... It is considered quite possible that the prime minister's path to another term in office could become increasingly difficult. Precisely because with each day that passes the suspicions are growing that he ignored the warnings of an attack. Quite apart from the fact that a considerable section of the population is already fed up with the long-serving head of government. Many long for a politician like Netanyahu's most promising challenger, Gadi Eisenkot: less polarising, less of a showman, less authoritarian. In that respect, the general election is also a decision on what direction the country should take.”
Can its image be restored?
For Netanyahu, as well as for Israel, this is a crucial election, argues Népszava:
“While Netanyahu attributed all the military successes of the war to date to himself and his government when speaking before the UN General Assembly, he interpreted all the criticism and what he considered to be unjustified accusations as anti-Israeli and antisemitic remarks. ... He did not utter a single word about his own responsibility, neither in connection with the terrorist attack on Israel nor with the sabotage of the hostage rescue operation, nor on any other matter. Nevertheless, Israeli voters also expect answers to these questions. ... Regardless of who succeeds Netanyahu, it will be a long and arduous path before the world once again recognises Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Clinging to the hope of peace
Israel can only function if everyone pulls together, author Doron Rabinovici comments in Profil:
“The visions of all fundamentalists – whether Israeli or Palestinian – lead to destruction. ... Such people are opponents of the state in two respects, for their fascist agitation is aimed not only at a Palestinian state, but also against the Israeli state itself, including its democracy and Supreme Court, which, incidentally, includes an Arab judge. They wish to eradicate any prospect of the Jewish nation living in peace with a free Palestine. All that remains is to support those in the country who cling to the hope of an end to war and violence.”