During the 15 years he served as prime minister, Netanyahu was accompanied by cautionary remarks issued by the experts on democracy in their own eyes.
"Danger to democracy," "dictator," "populist" slammed him, and other descriptions taken from dark regimes.
The bitter shouts brought democracy to the forefront of their joy, and at the same time sent a special message to the Likudniks: Friends, we want to do good to you, supporters of the popular party, just please, take care of it.
For you, for us, for democracy.
So this is it, the government has changed and seemingly it is possible to let out a sigh of relief, the danger has passed.
Da Aka, that experience teaches that such warnings should be taken with limited caution.
First, Netanyahu was not the first to be labeled a threat to democracy.
About 40 years ago, similar warnings were issued by the same circles towards the then prime minister, Menachem Begin.
Yes, the man who succeeded in undermining Mapai's hegemony and monopoly, reinforced by powerful levers of control, is a "populist and a danger to democracy."
Netanyahu, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Second, in the end, Netanyahu heads the largest party, its institutions such as primaries, committees and the constitution, and he is elected chairman of the party time and time again, usually by ordinary citizens.
This is a reality that cries out to heaven if it is compared to one-man-run parties, such as Yesh Atid, Yemina or Lieberman, that do not receive "Danger to Democracy" warning headlines.
Third, a historical fact: In the days before the disengagement, democracy supporters thundered against opponents of the move who criticized the then prime minister, Ariel Sharon, for breaking a promise, claiming: "This is representative democracy. This is the man you chose, and you have no one to complain about!"
And here, in the Netanyahu era, representative democracy has become invalid.
Fourth, the implicit assumption behind the concern for democracy is that Netanyahu's popularity gives him the ability to mold the public as material in the hands of the creator.
But this claim does not hold water, because against the background of the current government, which ordered and gave birth to sin, it turns out that everyone will receive a kosher certificate if they only shape the public in their image, as the image of democracy-seekers.
While representative democracy has passed from the world, the idea of substantive democracy is thriving among experts. So come on, flow: Substantial democracy means, on the one hand, a cultural situation in which the ordinary citizen, the territory, believes in its ability to influence the high ranks of decision-makers; On the other hand, common-sense Democrats leave room for the possibility that the field is wrong, hence the need for an educator-leader who is supposed to shape public opinion in light of lofty values, such as liberty, public courage and taking responsibility.
In light of this broad definition, should the circles whose year is wandering due to their anxiety about the future of Israeli democracy be trusted? Apparently not, at least through a sociological perspective. In the Israeli reality, the members of the pro-democracy circle are bound to a particular social field, and yet seldom cross the boundaries of their own geographical-social sector; They interview themselves and dine their hearts out in fairly uniform cultural food. How can one speak with a hoarse throat about "danger to democracy" when the people (on whose behalf they pretend to speak) are acquainted through a random encounter with the taxi driver or the pickle seller, and accordingly provide judicial assessments as if anthropologists were planted in a foreign and alienated cultural context? They do not really engage in a modest dialogue with the early background of their object of concern (the general public), nor with their own early background.
If so, the speakers are high-high and slap Netanyahu "Danger to democracy!"
- not to teach about the man came out, but about themselves.
Do not see their hump.
A welcome change will be made on the day when those who cry out bitterly take a break from a careful study of the laws of democracy, go out into the field, internalize values of modesty and recognize a certain authenticity of the preferences of the Israeli voter.
Indeed, Netanyahu is no longer prime minister, at least for now, but the danger to democracy, in the essential sense, has not passed.
Were we wrong?
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