Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu proposed a sweeping economic package late last week to appease criticisms that his government assists the rich more than the struggling middle class, although the reforms really represent his effort to retain power after the next round of elections that will be held in 2013 at the latest.
The recent uprisings throughout the Arab world demonstrate constituents’ power to overthrow their leaders, reinforcing to Netanyahu that he must quash criticisms from Kadima and a possible future Israeli social left that he is in the pockets of big business and the rich.
The economic reforms — which raise the minimum wage by over 10 percent and lower taxes on the low-middle class — were announced after repeated condemnation by Kadima leader Tzipi Livni and aspiring Labor chief Isaac Herzog over the past few weeks, including their high profile remarks at the Herzliya Conference.
Netanyahu is well aware that Livni’s Kadima — not his own Likud — won the 2009 elections and that Labor could successfully reposition itself as the party of the people to rise from the ashes of its Ehud Barak-led evisceration.
This proposed economic package has much broader implications than merely quashing threatened worker strikes — its the launch of Netanyahu’s campaign to retain the seat of power once elections are held, currently slated for 2013, although they might be called earlier.
The economy — and not the peace process or Middle East stability — will be the issue at hand for the next round of elections, and Netanyahu is well aware of that fact. Israelis are jaded by the repeatedly stalled negotiations with Palestinians, content with the status quo that has seen minimal terror attacks in the last year. Both Hezbollah and Hamas acknowledge that a future Israeli attack will result in their movements’ complete annihilation, therefore they are wary of launching rockets at their Jewish neighbors.
Conversely, the economy is at the forefront of Israelis’ daily life. Economic indicators suggest that Israeli exports are strong and the large firms’ profits are booming. Meanwhile, restaurants are half empty and Israeli’s debate whether to water their plants, buy that new car or purchase goods that they would have hastily put in their homes before Netanyahu’s rise to power.
Israelis are not going hungry, but the middle class has felt the squeeze in recent years even though the corporations and upper class are watching their bankrolls grow.
Netanyahu is certainly a shrewd politician, attune to the concerns of the masses, who are losing confidence in their Knesset-selected — not popularly-elected — leader because of their perception that he is for the rich at the expense of the poor.
The Israeli center-left embodied the peace movement, putting social issues as their second priority for decades. To counter Netanyahu’s economic package, Labor and Kadima must reposition their parties with a socially conscious mentality that helps the struggling middle class and tightens the income disparity gap. Focusing on likely irrelevant peace negotiations will only fuel Israeli sentiments that they are merely another country in the awakening Middle East with ineffective leadership that dismisses the needs of the everyday Israeli.
Don’t be mistaken — posturing for the next round of elections is at hand, and it will most certainly focus on the economy and not perpetually disappointing peace negotiations. Kadima and the nearly-decimated Israeli left should take note.
