TEL AVIV – A former protégé of Benjamin Netanyahu is challenging Israel’s oldest leader, the boldest sign of how the country’s right has fragmented over the country’s future and the fate of its prime minister.
Gideon Saar, 54, spent more than two decades moving up the ranks of the Likud party, starting as Netanyahu’s cabinet secretary, before serving as a powerful minister of education and the interior.
But, having failed to challenge Netanyahu for the Likud leadership in late 2019, Saar split up to form his own party, called New Hope. That group offers a right-wing alternative to Netanyahu for the next election on March 23, the fourth parliamentary vote in less than two years.
Unlike Israel’s elections in the past decade, in which Netanyahu defended himself against the challenges of the left and the center, Saar is launching a serious leadership challenge for his former right-wing mentor.
This poses a significant threat to Netanyahu, who faces criticism for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his trial for corruption. If Saar can continue to divert Netanyahu’s support among the right-wing parties in parliament, he could block the prime minister’s return to office.