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38 Middle East & Africa
2 tractors have limited the number of pas-
sengers, but it is hard to keep two metres
apart. Workers on Qatar’s football World Bibi wins again
Cup stadiums and Dubai’s World Expo fa-
cilities have been diagnosed with the virus.
Other workers have the opposite pro-
blem. Entire sectors of the economy, from
hospitality to retail, are closed. Thousands
of employees have already been dismissed
or furloughed. Their numbers will grow:
migrants are the first to lose their jobs dur-
ing a downturn. The imf’s latest forecast is Con April 20th it helped end Israel’s po-
a 2% contraction in Saudi Arabia this year
and 4% in Bahrain, Qatar and the uae. It
was released before the recent meltdown
in oil markets, so even those numbers may
prove too rosy. Charities are already an-
swering calls from migrants who struggle
to afford food.
Gulf states would like to send the newly
unemployed home. But their home coun-
tries are not always eager to take back (and
quarantine) thousands of jobless citizens.
India, which supplies millions of workers
to the Gulf, went into lockdown on March
25th and halted all commercial flights. It
says it cannot bring back all its citizens un- triggered a fourth election. The relief is pal- certainly be followed by an appeal to the
til the measures end, no earlier than May
3rd. The uae’s labour ministry has threat-
ened to limit the number of future work
visas for countries that “have not been re-
sponsive” about repatriating their citizens.
Ethiopia is quietly grumbling about a wave
of deportations from Saudi Arabia.
State media have tried to downplay any
discrimination. One gauzy ad from the uae
tells foreigners that they are part of a “fam- a fifth opposing it.
ily” of 10m. But some prominent figures
have denounced migrants as a vector for
disease. Hayat al-Fahad, a Kuwaiti actress,
said in a television interview that the coun- dorsed him to be prime minister and he
try was “fed up” with the foreigners who
make up two-thirds of the population and
suggested putting them in the desert. An
Emirati social-media personality defended
her comments by explaining that she only
meant Asian labourers: “Do you expect that
we…equate a Bengali worker with an Egyp-
tian worker? God forbid!” (Many Gulf citi-
zens criticised both their remarks.)
The social contract in the gcc has al-
ways been transactional. Foreigners are
paid more than they would earn in their
home countries. Even unskilled labourers
toiling in the heat make enough to send
back remittances. In return they accept a
state of permanent transience. Residency
is tied to employment: no matter how long
you work in the Gulf, you will probably
have to leave once you cease being useful.
Even wealthy expats are being reminded
that they are outsiders. Many of those who
happened to be travelling when the lock-
down began now cannot get back to their
homes in Qatar or Dubai. Some are separat-
ed from spouses or parents. Far from bring-
ing people together, the virus underscores
how far apart they are. 7
Israeli politics
JERUSALEM
Israel has a new government at last
ovid-19 has caused much misery. But
litical deadlock. After three inconclusive
elections in the span of a year, the country’s the battle against coronavirus”.
two biggest parties, Likud and Blue and
White, put aside their differences and
agreed to form a “national-emergency un-
ity government”. Under the deal, Binyamin
Netanyahu, the long-serving prime minis-
ter (pictured), remains in the post for an-
other 18 months. Then he will hand over to
Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue and White,
who will serve as deputy prime minister
and defence minister in the meantime.
The agreement was signed just two
weeks before the deadline that would have
pable. According to one poll, only 31% of
the public believe that Mr Netanyahu will
honour the agreement and make way for
Mr Gantz when his time is up. But the alter- ing those of Supreme Court judges.
native—yet another bitter election cam-
paign, while the country is under lock-
down and entering a recession—sounded
worse. Nearly two-thirds of the public sup-
ports the new government, with only about
Entering the coalition talks, Mr Gantz
held a strong hand. A majority of lawmak-
ers in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) en- the needs for preserving regional stability,
had control of parliamentary business. But
his supporters were divided on much else
and refused to sit together in government.
Some wanted Mr Gantz to threaten Mr Net-
Clap your hands and say meh
The Economist April 25th 2020
anyahu, who faces corruption charges,
with a law banning indicted politicians
from forming a government. He refused,
instead signalling that he would break his
biggest campaign promise and team up
with the prime minister, causing a split in
the opposition (and within his own party).
Mr Gantz has tried to put a brave face on
his decision. “The sad truth is that an entire
country has been paralysed for two years
under a caretaker government,” he said,
while chastising his former partners for
“preferring political victories over winning
The prime minister was surely pleased.
Mr Netanyahu, who heads a bloc of reli-
gious and nationalist parties, is likely to re-
main the real power in Israel even if he
does give up the premiership in November
2021. He commands the allegiance of near-
ly three-quarters of the governing co-
alition. One of Mr Gantz’s colleagues will
control the justice ministry, ensuring that
Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial proceeds
as scheduled on May 24th (virus permit-
ting). But it is expected to drag on—and will
Supreme Court if Mr Netanyahu loses. In
the meantime, he has retained the power to
veto senior judicial appointments, includ-
The agreement delays any move to an-
nex the occupied territories, as envisaged
by President Donald Trump’s peace plan,
until July at the earliest. Mr Netanyahu
campaigned on moving aggressively; Mr
Gantz opposed unilateral annexation. The
deal says it should proceed in a way that
does not harm Israel’s interests, “including
protecting existing peace agreements and
aspiring for future ones.” Mr Netanyahu
will probably have the final say.
The outbreak of covid-19 has led to more
co-operation between Israelis and Pales-
tinians. But annexation of territory that the
Palestinians regard as part of their future
state would probably kill any hope of a two-
state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict and could ignite violence. Mr Net-
anyahu will obviously want to avoid that,
but he may feel he needs to move before
November, when his chum Mr Trump may
be voted out of office.
At home Mr Netanyahu faces a weak and
fragmented opposition. Blue and White
has split into four different parties. One of
them, Yesh Atid, is led by Yair Lapid, who
apologised “to everyone who I convinced
over the past year to vote for Benny Gantz
and Blue and White. I didn’t believe your
votes would be stolen.” Once-dominant La-
bour, the party of Israel’s founders, is down
to three members of the Knesset, two of
whom will be joining the government. Mr
Gantz, meanwhile, is now bound to protect
Mr Netanyahu—or risk not becoming
prime minister. 7