In the past week, the political system has highlighted the Likud's weakness vis a vis Blue and White. Bar Ilan University School of Communication head Prof. Asher Cohen seeks to analyze why the Likud has found itself in this situation.
"The Likud reached this situation first of all because it surrendered to the principle of parity. From the moment it was determined that nothing could be transferred without its partners, regardless of their political power, this became the situation and these incidents will recur again and again," Cohen said in an interview with Arutz Sheva.
According to him, the Likud is in real trouble: "Going back means reopening the agreement with Blue and White and then we return to the majority question. There's no majority for a narrow Likud government, unless something develops that Liberman hinted at, that without Netanyahu there could be a narrow government. We must remember that there's an actor on the map who encourages such a government but conditions it on Netanyahu not being a part of it. This is the trap the Likud is in at the moment. Without Liberman, there has no choice but to continue the current format."
According to Prof. Cohen, the Likud is losing points because it engages in petty politics. "In light of the coronavirus crisis, it's clear that it'll take a long time to rehabilitate the economic situation. When there are such severe crises that aren't ideological, petty politics seems even smaller. An unemployed person who's lost his job or had his hours cut, sees arguments about gyms, yes or no, "and if someone will be on the committee or not, and he doesn't understand. This hurts the Likud."
And there are also those who benefit, at least according to the polls, from this situation, mainly the Yamina party. "The public criticizes the current situation as it perceives it - in a bad way. Except for the haredim, everyone who belongs to the coalition has been hurt by the coronavirus crisis. It doesn't matter if it's Blue and White which loses votes to Yesh Atid in the opposition or the Likud which loses seats in the polls. This is a protest against those who run things and are perceived as responsible."
"It may be that Yamina has to offer thanks for every day it didn't enter this government. Sovereignty has dissolved in the ideological dimension, coronavirus is perceived as not being taken care of and Yamina is free of all that. The situation will continue for a few more weeks."
According to Cohen, "It's not just the polls. If you ask the public the question" 'Who's the best person to take care of coronavirus?' and Naftali Bennett wins by tens of percentage points, in something that has nothing to do with ideology, then the public is simply telling you something. There's someone in the opposition who is perceived as a person who delved into the issue, and is offering solutions. When an opposition man like Bennett - who in practical terms controls [only] five Knesset seats - wins by a gap of tens of percentage points, it's rare."
He emphasizes that even sovereignty, which was supposed to be a major issue, fails to dominate the agenda because of coronavirus. "It should be noted that sovereignty also moved aside. Most people aren't interested in sovereignty if the health and economic crisis deepens; Rightists will see how the public pushes sovereignty to the margins of its interests, certainly when there are problems with the U.S. on this issue."