“A historic mistake” is how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to calls for early elections last November.

A few weeks later, he spoke in exaggerated confidence of the “unanimous” agreement of his right-wing coalition that early elections must be held next April.
 
So why the change of heart?
 
Netanyahu may not be a good leader, but he is certainly a cunning politician. The fact that he is gearing up for a fifth term at the helm of Israel’s fractious political scene speaks volumes of his ability to survive against many odds.
 
But it is not all about Netanyahu and his clever ways. Israeli politics are truly dismal. The left, if it ever earned such a title, is marginal, if not entirely irrelevant.

The centre lacks any real political identity or decipherable discourse concerning, for example, foreign policy or true vision for peace and coexistence.