Will Israel's so-called unity government strangle both Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel?

Benjamin Netanyahu has been Prime Minister of Israel longer than anyone one else in Israel's history. Israel is a democracy, but its political climate seems unique among Western democracies. 

National politics in Israel don't appear  to be particularly Western-like. Instead, Israel's national political scene seems more like a free-for-all-no-holds-barred fight club than what one would expect to find in a Western 'democracy'.

What Israel's national political scene has been for decades, America's national political scene has been for just four years--a wild brawl.  

If you are an Israeli who's a gentle, caring person, politics in Israel isn't for you. In fact, Israel's political climate is so tough, most Prime Ministers don't serve out the typical four-year term; most have to call for new elections before finishing 3.5 years--if they're lucky to get that far. 

The Israeli political spotlight is harsh, even toxic. Political "sharks" in Israel can't wait to attack a new Prime Minister. The hostility aimed at a new PM is often white-hot. That's why a newly elected PM rarely makes it through a full 4-year term.

Except, that is, for Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is truly the rare political exception. So far in his political career, he has won more elections (7) than anyone else running for PM except David Ben Gurion (9). Netanyahu has served as PM longer (14 years, 124 days, as of July 15, 2020) than anyone else. He has also served more 3.5+ year terms-of-office than anyone else.

He is even the only man in Israel to win an election while under criminal indictment (which, many say, is more politically-driven than fact-driven). Indeed, if new elections are called in Israel before December, 2020 (as some have begun to speculate), he may become the only man in Israel to win a national election while on trial for 'crimes against the state'.  

There's no question that Fate has been kind to Benjamin  Netanyahu. He leads a 'charmed' political life. His survival in the street brawl called, an "Israeli National election" seems, well, more supernatural than natural. 

Why is this man different from all other men who have run for PM in Israel? G-d knows.

There's good reason for Netanyahu's good fortune. HaShem, the G-d of the Jewish people, grants good fortune to fall upon those He chooses. What a secularist might call the "fickle finger of Fate", is only--for the more spiritually sensitive--the guiding hand of HaShem moving actors and events around in order to secure the outcome He deems best for the Plans He has.

So far, HaShem's Plans for Netanyahu have brought him good fortune. But that was then. Now is a different story. Now, July, 2020, Netanyahu suffers.  

Where once Netanyahu's approval rating (and his Fortune) skyrocketed (at the beginning of Israel's corona pandemic), it now plummets. He no longer leads. He is forced instead to share his leadership decisions with a so-called "unity government" that offers no unity whatsoever. 

Where once he was known for his success running Israel's economic plan, the current, extended  pandemic churns his economic plans into chaos (and even violence--here) as he struggles to make decisions surrounded by a supposed "unity" coalition that brings to Netanyahu nothing but troubles and attacks. This "unity" government is a farce. It ignores all attempts to help (here). This 'unity' government brings only  dissension, not unity (here, here). 

When Netanyahu cannot do anything without approval from his so-called "friends" in the Blue-White Party (the result of the supposed "unity" government), his decision-making capabilities shrinks to zero. His effectiveness as a leader evaporates. 

This is why, before the "unity" government, Netanyahu was able to be Israel's corona 'hero'. It's also why now, handcuffed by his 'unity' partners, he suddenly appears beleaguered, indecisive and weak. 
  This so-called "unity  government" is a disaster for both Netanyahu and Israel. It has provoked Israel's public to lose trust in Netanyahu (here). It's brought violent protests to the streets (here). It's gotten so bad that Netanyahu now complains that Gantz--his supposed "unity" partner--along with Gantz's Blue-White Party have failed to take the steps necessary to wage an effective war against the pandemic (here).

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Israel celebrated Netanyahu's leadership. Now, tied to unwilling partners, he faces protest after protest. Where once he could do no wrong, now he can do nothing right. 

The problem is, as he suffers, so does Israel. His "unity" partners are not just driving Netanyahu into the ground. They're driving Israel's economy into the ground.

The secularist might say this is an example of Netanyahu being harassed by the fickle finger of Fate. But the more spiritually tuned might tell you it isn't dumb Fate that moves approval ratings against him. It's HaShem, the G-d of Israel, who moves those ratings. 

Why? G-d knows. 

The passage of time will tell us if this so-called "unity" government will strangle both Israel and it's longest-serving Prime Minister. In the meantime, Netanyahu might be wise to remember that his survival as PM depends more upon HaShem than the Blue-White Party.