Throughout his brief political career, Blue & White leader and Defense Minister Benny Gantz was seen as the nice man in the Israeli political system.
It was not an occasional positive praise or impulse by those closest to Gantz either, but a feature of his strongly marketed intent that opposed the political scheme and questionable behavior of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Minister of defense benny gantz
(Photo: EPA)
From the moment he decided to enter politics in 2019, across three very ugly election campaigns, and until he decided to break the most solemn oath and sit with Netanyahu in the same government – He always had the advantage of being the nice guy, while Netanyahu and his brand of politics were considered “evil.”
That same premise worked in Gantz’s favor until recently.
His “niceness” was the explanation given for his plight with relatives.
His “will” also worked in his favor during the budget crisis, when Netanyahu and the Likud carelessly chose to put strings on the budget talks to help Netanyahu avoid accusation of his corruption charges.
His “will” also helped him when he and his party entered the polls. For while he may not replace Netanyahu, he has laid the foundation for a change in leadership.
During his time in that awful failed unity government, Gantz and his party embarked on a number of potentially irreversible and dangerous political movements.
Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu in Knesset plenary
(Photo: Oren Ben Hakun)
This partnership between Blue & White and the Likud should have ended in the moment when it became clear that its sole purpose was to extend the challenging rule of the coalition.
This was the way Gantz and his party remembered. But no.
The smoke of war is yet to spread, Israel is holding its fourth election in less than two years, and Gantz has lost its only real asset.
The negotiations between Gantz and Netanyahu to extend the life of a poor coalition in exchange for a series of meaningless empty promises marked the end of Gantz’s ethical high ground.
Gantz’s “niceness” meant nothing when he was re-fed into a lengthy negotiation process with a competitor who would not even give him time of day.
His “will” meant nothing when he sent out former justice minister Haim Ramon – who was notorious for his infamy for the State Prosecutor – to regulate the negotiations over the minister’s authority. current justice.
Former justice minister haim ramon
(Photo: Oz Mualem)
Like any well-written tragedy, Gantz’s political blindness could teach a valuable lesson. Politics is not just a series of clichés, and a strong agenda and good intentions are almost close enough.
It’s about what you do, what you want to represent with your actions, and how that certainly shapes the lives of the people you want to lead.
Netanyahu knows this, prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Gideon Sa’ar know this, even former Gantz partner and current opposition leader Yair Lapid knows this.
Gantz – a former IDF chief of staff with a distinguished career – has proved he has no political sense, and would not know where he should steer the ship in a very different situation in the prime minister’s seat.
Its strength came not from its own advanced features, but from Netanyahu’s failures. The fact that he was willing to sign an agreement to extend Netanyahu’s rule is both proof of this and the final nail in the coffin of this nice man’s political course.