With elections looming, Israeli politics is, as per usual, a beehive of realignments and primaries, although there is little expectation that November’s results will be any more decisive than any of the previous four over the last four years. However, the usual near-standoff that produces inconclusive results does not mean there have been no significant changes in the makeup of Israeli society and politics. One such notable change was illustrated in the recent Likud party primaries, when former Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu confirmed his complete takeover of the party, under which his style of populism, known as “Bibism,” rules supreme and threatens to engulf the country and endanger Israel’s uneasy democracy. Likud’s 2022 model is a far cry from the party that was founded nearly 50 years ago in 1973. Even at the height of Menachem Begin’s power — after his party won its first election in 1977 — Likud’s founding leader never encouraged the kind of personality cult that has emerged during Netanyahu’s time as party leader. Israeli politics is never straightforward and it would be oversimplistic, let alone inaccurate, to describe Likud and the factions that joined forces to form it as center-right. There have always been radical right-wing elements within this movement, dating back as far as the pre-state years, when Begin and his successor as prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir, led two of the most militant underground movements and employed terrorist methods against both the representatives of the British Mandate in Palestine and the Arab population. Moreover, they believed in the monopoly and superiority of the Zionist movement in Mandatory Palestine between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. However, they were something of a paradox, as they also held Central European liberal values that frequently clashed with the way they operated politically and militarily. It was Begin, who himself toyed with populism, that was ready to give up the entire occupied Sinai Peninsula for peace with Egypt and, in doing so, took a big risk with his domestic support. When Likud eventually replaced the previously dominant Labor Party in power, the one thing it retained — at least inside Israel within the Green Line, though to a much lesser extent in the Occupied Territories — was a respect for the supremacy of the rule the law and the justice system, as would be expected in a democracy. Netanyahu, who ironically is the son of one of the leading right-wing Zionist ideologists of the pre-state and Israel’s early years, has gradually transformed the party until it has become simply an instrument for worshipping its leader. He allowed what is known as Bibism to emerge — a personality cult in the spirit of French king Louis XIV’s notorious pronouncement that “L’etat, c’est moi” (I am the state). Netanyahu has gradually transformed the party until it has become simply an instrument for worshipping its leader. Yossi Mekelberg As things stand, it is almost impossible to know whether at any point Netanyahu held to a firm ideology or adhered to any value system, or whether he was always a mere opportunist in search of power, fame and money. Few who met him have doubted his intelligence, his depth of knowledge on a wide range of issues, his analytical mind, and even that he can be charming when he wants to be. But it is his personality — narcissistic, hedonistic, power crazy and exacerbated by a problematic family environment — that has got him into trouble with the law and led him to resort to the worst kind of populism for the sake of remaining in power indefinitely and preventing his corruption trial from reaching its conclusion. To this end, he is ready to drive a wedge between Jews and Arabs, Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, right and left, religious and secular, and sacrifice the good of the country by surrounding himself with sycophants he has rewarded with appointments to key ministerial and civil service posts regardless of whether or not they are qualified to hold such positions. The likely result of the primaries is that such methods will ensure that the Likud-led faction in the Knesset will be the largest in the Israeli legislature and will be stuffed with people loyal to him come rain or shine … or a Netanyahu conviction. For Netanyahu, especially in light of his indictment on three cases of corruption, the advancement of Bibism, which is populism adjusted to Israeli conditions, creates an unbreakable link between being in power and his relentless efforts to stop his trial. For this, he is ready to undermine and politicize the justice system and to incite violence against the Palestinians, whether they are citizens of Israel or live under Israeli occupation or blockade. He will also smear any government not led by himself as unpatriotic and, worse, paint its leaders as traitors and collaborators with the country’s enemies, among whom he includes parties that represent the majority of the Palestinian electorate. A process that began with Netanyahu being regarded as a rather pathetic cheapskate who would not pay for his own Champagne and cigars and was obsessed with getting positive coverage in the media has seen him come to lead an all-out war to destroy the rule of law and with it the democratic system. In the process, he has legitimized the most extreme ultra-right and racist elements in Israeli politics, as long as they support him in forming a coalition in the aftermath of November’s general election — no matter the further damage this will inflict on an already struggling democratic system and Israeli society’s coherence and unity. Many of Netanyahu’s followers genuinely believe in him, even adore him, and hence mindlessly subscribe to his incitements against rivals and those whose only crime is to ensure that justice is done in his corruption trial. But Netanyahu himself knows better and fully understands the damage he is causing, which makes his behavior morally indefensible. His refusal to part with power — and even more pertinently his reluctance to spend his later years behind bars — means that it is a case of “L’etat, c’est moi — King Bibi,” and to hell with the consequences for anyone else. • Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg