Israeli Politics, Always "Just Before Elections," Nu Gidon Saar?

Haaretz, Gideon Sa'ar. Photo by Olivier Fitoussi 

Former Likud MK and minister Gidon Saar chose the pre-Passover Likud toast in Acre to return to political/public life. Even though his carefully written/prepared speech claimed there aren't Knesset Elections on the horizon, we all know that here in Israel it can change on a dime.

What's most interesting here is that Sa'ar is sticking with the Likud and not trying to form a new party or join one of the coalition or opposition parties. Being almost a generation younger than Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, that's a good tactic. Netanyahu will be turning 68 towards the end of the year, which is younger than American President Trump but past Israel's official retirement age.

Sa'ar may not be all that charismatic, but he's no dummy. Marketing experts say that one should hold onto one's customers and add to that base. Sa'ar has his support in the Likud, and switching parties would necessitate building a rather new support base.

Even if Bibi has inherited his father's longevity, there's a very strong chance that he and his family will be happy/ready to hand over the reins, or more accurately, headache of running the country and the Likud within the next five years. The question here is whether or not Sa'ar's wife, television news star Geula Evan, will be willing to give up her profession to be Israel's "first lady."  I assume that she has agreed, since he gave up his job in the early years of their marriage, so now if/ he reaches top job, she'll be the one. 

Israeli politics is never dull and politicians can never relax. There's no job security, but the pension is great!

PS You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned anything about Gidon Sa'ar's politics/policies/opinions. The reason is simple. I just don't trust anyone to keep their campaign promises.