As we noted yesterday, Israel's right wing Trump-aligned Prime Minister Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu is in a fight for his political (and indeed legal) life after another close election on Tuesday. We were struck by an editorial in the Washington Post that illuminated the similarities between how Netanyahu is handling his failure to win a majority of seats and his close American friend's situation:
"The longest-serving leader in Israel’s history has so alienated some of his own natural constituencies — in part through corrupt behavior for which he is currently on trial — that he is unable to unite the center-right majority that voters chose. Yet he refuses to give up office, and his own cynical maneuvering may well prevent anyone else from doing so.
Mr. Netanyahu, who bonded tightly with President Donald Trump, followed his example by claiming “a giant victory” despite the failure of his Likud party and its allies to gain a majority. And it could be that a politician who has survived numerous previous setbacks will again contrive a way to remain in power. [snip] Mr. Netanyahu has shown that he will do virtually anything to avoid leaving office at a time when he is being prosecuted on bribery charges — a rap he hopes to beat with legislation granting himself immunity." (our emphasis)
The parallels are striking: both have prosecutions facing them and needed to remain in office for immunity, and both dishonestly employed the "Big Lie" to claim victory. There as here, it's pathetic that more citizens don't see through it and turn the page.
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