#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-column-gap:0px;grid-template-columns:100%;grid-template-areas:”media” “title” “headline” “standfirst” “lines” “meta” “body”}@media (min-width: 30em){#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption{padding:0 20px;max-width:620px}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:100%;grid-column-gap:10px;grid-template-areas:”title” “headline” “standfirst” “media” “lines” “meta” “body”}#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent{padding-right:80px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:620px 300px;grid-template-areas:”title right-column” “headline right-column” “standfirst right-column” “media right-column” “lines right-column” “meta right-column” “body right-column” “. right-column”}#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent{padding-right:unset}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:140px 1px 620px 300px;grid-template-areas:”title border headline right-column” “. border standfirst right-column” “. border media right-column” “. border body right-column” “. border . right-column”}#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst{padding-bottom:0}#article-body>div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,.content–interactive>div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#comment-body .contFor interactive grid figures with immersive captions, add 4px of top padding. In the article body, interactive section, comment body, main body, and feature body, place the lines and meta elements in grid area 2/1/5/2. Set the lines element to max-content height with a 5px top margin, and give the meta element an 18px top margin. At viewports 81.25em and wider, use grid columns of 219px, 1px, 620px, 80px, and 300px. On iOS and Android, style the standfirst text with Guardian Headline at weight 500, display the article kicker section as a block with an uppercase first letter, add 12px of top padding to keyline-4, and set the byline author to Guardian Headline at weight 700 (including links). Also on iOS and Android, make image figure inner containers auto height and remove the top margin from paragraphs following atom figures. Define Guardian Headline Full with a light 300 weight and normal style, loading woff2, woff, and ttf sources, and begin defining its light italic variant the same way.The text you provided is CSS code defining font faces for “Guardian Headline Full,” specifying various weights and styles with URLs to font files. It’s not prose, so there’s no complex phrasing to simplify or reword into fluent English without altering its technical meaning. If you intended a different text, please provide it.
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom:first-of-type + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom:first-of-type + figure:has(gu-island[name=UnsafeEmbedBlockComponent]) + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom:first-of-type + .sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom:first-of-type + #sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom:first-of-type + .element-atom + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom:first-of-type + figure:has(gu-island[name=UnsafeEmbedBlockComponent]) + .sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom:first-of-type + figure:has(gu-island[name=UnsafeEmbedBlockComponent]) + #sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule) + p:first-letter,
.content__main-column–interactive hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule) + .ad-slot-container + p:first-letter,
#article-body > div .element-atom:first-of-type + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
#article-body > div .element-atom:first-of-type + figure:has(gu-island[name=UnsafeEmbedBlockComponent]) + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
#article-body > div .element-atom:first-of-type + .sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
#article-body > div .element-atom:first-of-type + #sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
#article-body > div .element-atom:first-of-type + .element-atom + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
#article-body > div .element-atom:first-of-type + figure:has(gu-island[name=UnsafeEmbedBlockComponent]) + .sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:first-letter,
#article-body > div .element-atom:first-of-type + figure:has(gu-island[name=UnsafeEmbedBlockComponent]) + #sign-in-gate + p:first-of-type:fiThis CSS targets drop caps (large initial letters) in article body content. It applies a specific font, weight, size, line height, and color to the first letter of paragraphs that follow certain elements like horizontal rules, ad slots, embedded atoms, or sign-in gates within article bodies, interactive content, comment bodies, and feature bodies.The CSS rules adjust spacing and layout for interactive articles, pull quotes, showcase images, and immersive elements. They remove top padding after horizontal rules, limit pull quote width to 620px, and make showcase captions static and full-width up to 620px on smaller screens. On wider screens, those captions become absolutely positioned with maximum widths of 140px or 220px. Immersive elements span the full viewport width, with adjusted maximum widths and caption padding at different breakpoints. Showcase figures in the body are shifted left by 160px or 240px on larger screens. For non-interactive articles, the furniture wrapper is placed in the second grid column and first row, with certain meta elements hidden on wider screens, title padding adjusted, and standfirst positioning changed. Elements following the furniture wrapper start on the second grid row, and figure atoms containing article layout or portrait IDs have no block margin.At a minimum width of 61.25em, the furniture wrapper uses a grid layout with 20px column gaps and no row gaps. It defines named grid areas for title, headline, meta, standfirst, and portrait, each spanning five columns, with rows sized to .25fr, 1fr, .75fr, and auto. The first child of the headline section gets a top border using the header border color. The meta section is relatively positioned with 2px top padding and no right margin. The standfirst’s content has a 4px bottom margin, and list items in the standfirst use 20px font size. Links in the standfirst have no bottom border or background image, but are underlined with a 6px offset, 1px thickness, and the header border color; on hover, the underline color changes to the new pillar color. The first paragraph of the standfirst gets a top border and no bottom padding.
At a minimum width of 71.25em within the 61.25em breakpoint, the first standfirst paragraph loses its top border. Figures inside the furniture wrapper have a left margin of -10px, and inline figures are capped at 630px wide.
At a minimum width of 71.25em, the grid template changes to different column and row definitions. The meta section gets a pseudo-element that is 540px wide, positioned at the top, with a 1px height and the header border background color. Standfirst paragraphs lose their top border. The standfirst gets a pseudo-element that is 1px wide, full height, positioned at the top and left .5px, with the header border background color.
At a minimum width of 81.25em, the grid template changes again. The meta pseudo-element widens to 620px, and the standfirst pseudo-element shifts to left -.5px. The article header and title section are also part of the grid.`.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels > div, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels > div { padding-top: 2px; } .furniture-wrapper #headline, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline], .furniture-wrapper .headline { grid-area: headline; } .furniture-wrapper #headline h1, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1, .furniture-wrapper .headline h1 { font-weight: 600; max-width: 620px; font-size: 32px; } @media (min-width: 71.25em) { .furniture-wrapper #headline h1, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1, .furniture-wrapper .headline h1 { max-width: 540px; font-size: 50px; } } @media (min-width: 46.25em) { .furniture-wrapper .keyline-4, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines] { margin-right: 0; } } @media (min-width: 61.25em) { .furniture-wrapper .keyline-4, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines] { display: none; } } .furniture-wrapper .keyline-4 svg, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines] svg { stroke: var(–headerBorder); } .furniture-wrapper #meta, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] { grid-area: meta; } @media (min-width: 46.25em) { .furniture-wrapper #meta, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] { margin-right: 0; } } .furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__social, .furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__social ul li a span, .furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__comment, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__social, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__social ul li a span, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__comment { border-color: var(–headerBorder); } .furniture-wrapper #meta .content__meta-container_dcr > div > gu-island, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .content__meta-container_dcr > div > gu-island { display: none; } .furniture-wrapper .standfirst, .furniture-wrapper #standfirst, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] { grid-area: standfirst; margin-left: -10px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; } @media (min-width: 46.25em) { .furniture-wrapper .standfirst, .furniture-wrapper #standfirst, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] { padding-top: 2px; } } .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p, .furniture-wrapper #standfirst p, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p { font-weight: 400; font-size: 20px; padding-bottom: 14px; } .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { position: relative; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 2px; grid-area: portrait; } .furniture-wrapper #main-media div div, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] div div { width: 100%; margin-inline: 0; } @media (min-width: 61.25em) { .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { margin-bottom: 0; } } @media (max-width: 46.24em) { .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { width: calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)); margin-left: -10px; } } @media (max-width: 46.24em) and (min-width: 30em) { .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { margin-left: -20px; } } .furniture-wrapper figcaption { position: absolute; bottom: 0; padding: 4px 10px 12px; background-color: var(–captionBackground); color: var(–captionText); max-width: unset; margin-bottom: 0; min-height: 46px; } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span { color: var(–headerBorder); } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span svg { fill: var(–headerBorder); } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span:nth-of-type(1) { display: none; } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span:nth-of-type(2) { display: inline; max-width: 90%; } @media (min-width: 30em) { .furniture-wrapper figcaption { padding: 4px 20px 12px; } } .furniture-wrapper figcaption.hidden { opacity: 0; } .furniture-wrapper #caption-button { display: block; position: absolute; bottom: 10px; right: 8px; z-index: 30; background-color: var(–captionBackground); border: none; border-radius: 50%; padding: 6px 5px 5px; } .furniture-wrapper #caption-button svg { transform: scale(.85); } @media (min-width: 30em) { .furniture-wrapper #caption-button { right: 10px; } } @media (min-width: 71.25em) { .content__main-column–interactive:before { top: -12px !important; height: calc(100% + 24px) !important; } } .content__main-column–interactive h2 { max-width: 620px; } @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { :root:root:not([data-color-scheme=light]) { –follow-text: #dcdcdc; –follow-icon-fill: var(–darkmode-pillar); –standfirst-text: #dcdcdc; –standfirst-link-text: var(–darkmode-pillar); –stan`Set the first link border to the dark mode pillar color and the byline to the dark mode pillar color. For the furniture wrapper, set the headline h1, the headline data attribute h1, the headline class h1, the standfirst div p, the standfirst ID div p, and the standfirst data attribute div p to font weight 500. For the root body, set the weekend essay background to #fff4f2, the background to the weekend essay background variable with a fallback of #fff4f2, the article section background to the weekend essay background variable with a fallback of #fff4f2, and the sub meta background to the weekend essay background variable with a fallback of #fff4f2. Hide the lines data attribute. Make the furniture wrapper position relative. At a minimum width of 81.25em, set the furniture wrapper grid template rows to title start and portrait start at .25fr, title end and headline start at 1fr, headline end, standfirst start, and meta start at .3fr, and standfirst end, meta end, and portrait end. For the furniture wrapper article header and the furniture wrapper title data attribute, set position relative and height 70px. For the furniture wrapper article header content labels and the furniture wrapper title data attribute content labels, set height inherit. For the furniture wrapper article header content labels after and the furniture wrapper title data attribute content labels after, set content to an empty string, display block, width 70px, height 70px, background image to the book gif URL, background size contain, background position center, background repeat no-repeat, position absolute, bottom 0, and right 0. At a minimum width of 81.25em, set the furniture wrapper article header content labels after and the furniture wrapper title data attribute content labels after to width 110px and height 110px. For the furniture wrapper article header content labels direct div children and the furniture wrapper title data attribute content labels direct div children, set height 100%. For the furniture wrapper article header content labels direct div children after and the furniture wrapper title data attribute content labels direct div children after, set content to an empty string, display block, width calc(100vw minus the scrollbar width variable with a fallback of 0px), height 1px, background color #dcdcdc, position absolute, bottom 0, and left -10px. At a minimum width of 46.25em, set the furniture wrapper article header content labels direct div children after and the furniture wrapper title data attribute content labels direct div children after to left -20px and width 738px. At a minimum width of 61.25em, set the furniture wrapper article header content labels direct div children after and the furniture wrapper title data attribute content labels direct div children after to display none. At a minimum width of 71.25em, set the furniture wrapper article header and the furniture wrapper title data attribute to height 80px. At a minimum width of 81.25em, set the furniture wrapper article header and the furniture wrapper title data attribute to height 125px. At a minimum width of 81.25em, set the furniture wrapper headline, the furniture wrapper headline data attribute, and the furniture wrapper headline class to margin top -2px. For the furniture wrapper headline direct div direct div children, the furniture wrapper headline data attribute direct div direct div children, and the furniture wrapper headline class direct div direct div children, set padding bottom 0. For the furniture wrapper headline portrait mainmedia headline wrapper, the furniture wrapper headline data attribute portrait mainmedia headline wrapper, and the furniture wrapper headline class portrait mainmedia headline wrapper, set height 100%, position relative, overflow hidden, and padding bottom 24px. For the furniture wrapper headline portrait mainmedia headline wrapper h1 and a, the furniture wrapper headline data attribute portrait mainmedia headline wrapper h1 and a, and the furniture wrapper headline class portrait mainmedia headline wrapper h1 and a, set max width unset. For the furniture wrapper headline portrait mainmedia headline wrapper h1 hover and a hover, the furniture wrapper headline data attribute portrait mainmedia headline wrapper h1 hover and a hover, and the furniture wrapper headline class portrait mainmedia headline wrapper h1 hover and a hover, set the portrait mainmedia headline wrapper.a:hover{text-decoration-thickness:2px;text-underline-offset:6px}.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span{line-height:115%;font-weight:500;font-size:36px}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span{font-size:50px}}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{position:relative;padding-top:4px}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{padding-top:0}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{padding-top:2px}}.furniture-wrapper #meta .content__meta-container_dcr gu-island[name=Branding],.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .content__meta-container_dcr gu-island[name=Branding]{display:block}.furniture-wrapper #main-media,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media]{position:relative}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media]{grid-area:portrait}}.furniture-wrapper #main-media>div,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media]>div{position:relative}.furniture-wrapper #main-media div+span,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] div+span{display:block}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure{height:100%;margin-left:10px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure figcaption{width:calc(100vw – 40px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:auto;margin-left:10px;padding:10px 0}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure figcaption{margin-bottom:10px;padding:10px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before{content:””;display:block;width:calc(100vw – 20px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));background-image:url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/atoms/2025/04/2025-weekend-essay-test/assets/v/1792770496/frame.png);background-size:contain;background-position:center;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:absolute;top:0;left:10px;height:inherit}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph div:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph div:first-of-type{background:transparent}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph video,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph video{width:92%;margin:16px 8px 0}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph figcaption,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph figcaption{margin-bottom:12px;width:93%;margin-Here is the text rewritten in fluent, natural English:
@media (min-width: 23.4375em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph video,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph video {
width: 94%;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph figcaption {
margin-bottom: 12px;
width: 91%;
margin-left: 9px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure {
margin-left: 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img {
width: 670px;
height: auto;
margin-left: 5px;
padding: 15px 10px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before {
width: 700px;
left: -10px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure figcaption {
width: 650px;
margin-left: 15px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
padding: 15px 10px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph video,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph video {
width: 96%;
margin: 18px 6px 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph figcaption {
width: 96%;
margin-left: 6px;
margin-bottom: 17px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 61.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before {
width: 470px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure figcaption {
width: 450px;
margin-left: 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img {
padding: 10px 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure figcaption {
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph video,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph video {
margin: 10px 6px 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph figcaption {
margin-left: 6px;
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before {
width: 550px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img {
width: 520px;
margin-left: 5px;
padding: 10px 5px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure figcaption {
width: 510px;
margin-left: 10px;
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph video,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph video {
margin: 12px 6px 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph figcaption {
margin-left: 6px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before {
width: 630px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img {
width: 600px;
padding: 15px 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure figcaption {
width: 600px;
margin-left: 5px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph video,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph video {
margin: 16px 8px 0;
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.cinemagraph figcaption,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure.cinemagraph figcaption {
margin-left: 8px;
}
}
.furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] #caption-button {
right: 15px;
bottom: 20px;
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] #caption-button {
right: 45px;
bottom: 30px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 61.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] #caption-button {
right: 15px;
bottom: 20px;
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:root.inThey chant his name, they cheer and clap – and yet he is not the most dominant person in the room. Looming over the crowd that has gathered to hear Gadi Eisenkot, the former general who is the lead opposition challenger in Tuesday’s Israeli election, is a man who is not there. It is the man Eisenkot seeks to replace as prime minister, the man who first served in that role three decades ago and who has held it, on and off, for 19 of the past 30 years. It is Benjamin Netanyahu.
Naturally, the warm-up speakers at this evening rally in the modest city of Modi’in, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, stress the virtues of Eisenkot, a son of working-class Moroccan Jews who rose through the ranks to become chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and entered politics only four years ago. But every sentence might as well end with two words that go unspoken: unlike Bibi.
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Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff and head of the Yashar party, delivers an address on the campaign trail. In an obvious reference to Benjamin Netanyahu, he has called for a ‘country without lies’. Photograph: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP/Getty Images
Even the name of Eisenkot’s party, Yashar, meaning straight or direct, carries the implied contrast with Netanyahu, who is regarded by friends and enemies alike as a maestro of the darkest political arts. When Eisenkot calls for “a country without lies”, when he calls for “responsibility and leading by example”, when he suggests US-style term limits for the role of prime minister, “because power corrupts”, everyone knows what – and who – he means.
None of this comes with rhetorical fire or theatrical panache. But the lack of charisma serves only to emphasise that Eisenkot is every inch the un-Bibi. “I think that’s an advantage,” Noa Sadeh, 56, told me after Wednesday night’s rally. “I’m fed up with people who know how to talk – like Bibi. We need someone who will do the doing part.”
Spotting a journalist with a notebook, David Nadler, 74, a retired colonel who served under Eisenkot, insisted I write down the word “integrity”, meaning “he says something, he means it, he will do it”. Another sentence ending with those silent words: unlike Bibi.
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Eisenkot shakes hands with Netanyahu at a swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem in 2015 attended by the then defence minister, Moshe Ya’alon. Eisenkot has pledged to wipe out Hamas. Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
It’s hard to overstate Netanyahu’s dominance not only over this campaign but over Israeli politics and political culture. The two blocs in this election are not left and right but Bibi and anti-Bibi. The latter camp includes at least two figures – the former PM Naftali Bennett and the Moldova-born Avigdor Lieberman – whose natural home is on the nationalist right and who both once worked closely with Netanyahu, only to fall out with him spectacularly.
Almost every political figure is defined, or defines themselves, in relation to Netanyahu. Eisenkot offers himself as the antidote, but listen to the pitch made by the far right and it too is all about the prime minister.
Netanyahu is like a shopping trolley, says Yishai Fleisher, of Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, to a group of about 30 orthodox voters in a study hall in Bet Shemesh on Thursday evening. “He has a tendency to go left, so you have to pull him to the right.” Fleischer makes the case for yet more Jewish settlements in the West Bank, to say nothing of settling Gaza; for a “ministry of emigration” that will encourage the “voluntary” departure of Palestinians; for the death penalty; for ever harsher treatment of Palestinian prisoners; for putting more guns and more ammunition into the hands of Jewish Israeli civilians – but all in the context of strengthening the resolve of a new Netanyahu-led coalition. On the right, Ben-Gvir is a moon thNetanyahu’s support may be rising, but he is still the sun. Partly, that’s a function of sheer longevity. But it’s also down to Netanyahu’s undimmed ability to set the political agenda. Even in this election, he has demarcated the terrain on which battle is fought. His latest poster campaign offers voters a rhyming choice of Yamin, meaning the right, or Falastin, meaning Palestine. On the right side is, of course, his own face and the Israeli flag; on the other, the leaders of the opposition parties, including Bennett and Lieberman who are adamantly opposed to a Palestinian state, all of them surrounding two heads of parties that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up about a fifth of the country’s population. The message is not subtle: vote for me, or you’ll get the Arabs. Indeed, the closing weeks of the campaign have centred on the question of whether the anti-Netanyahu bloc of Jewish Israeli parties – currently forecast to do better than the Netanyahu bloc but to fall short of an overall majority in the Knesset – will do some kind of parliamentary deal with the mainly Arab parties, most of which have, historically, both refused to join Israeli governments and not been invited. Backed by that chunk of the media that is loudly and vociferously pro-Netanyahu, most notably the Fox News wannabe Channel 14, Netanyahu has succeeded in putting his opponents on the defensive. A rare exception to that pattern came just this week when a Netanyahu uber-loyalist, Channel 14’s Yinon Magal, characterised Eisenkot as a Moroccan “monkey”. The racial slur was so crude that had it been used by the left to describe a politician of the right, it would have had Netanyahu denouncing Ashkenazi elitism from the rooftops (even though Netanyahu is, of course, a privileged scion of the Ashkenazi elite). Tellingly, while the warm-up speakers in Modi’in mentioned the “monkey” remark, Eisenkot himself did not. To his admirers, that was the mark of a decent man reluctant to follow his opponents into the gutter. To the doubters, it was a sign of a politician still playing by Marquess of Queensbury rules – one who doesn’t quite appreciate what, or rather who, he is up against. For an outside observer, the most puzzling question about this Israeli election is: how is this even close? How can the polls be showing the two blocs, pro- and anti-Netanyahu, neck and neck? Abroad, many will be baffled that Netanyahu can still be in contention given the devastation his government brought down upon Gaza, flattening much of the territory and killing more than 70,000 Palestinians, even if, as Israel says, one-third of them were Hamas combatants. But even inside Israel, where the impact of the war on the people of Gaza is all too rarely discussed, it is no less of a riddle that Netanyahu is a serious candidate in these elections, let alone one who could emerge on top. To start with the most elemental fact, the biggest disaster in the country’s history happened on his watch. The massacres inflicted on civilian Israel on 7 October 2023, at the Nova music festival and at a string of southern kibbutzim, are still fresh in the memory. Stickers depicting the faces of those killed on that day adorn bus stops and railway platforms from one end of the country to the other. As Oded Levi, who voted for Netanyahu in 2022 but was in the Modi’in crowd for Eisenkot, put it: “Whoever was prime minNetanyahu is responsible. He has to go. For this reason alone, we need a change.” But it hardly ends there. Netanyahu promised a war that would destroy and eradicate Hamas. That didn’t happen. Instead, Israel destroyed its own international reputation, leaving the country isolated and fast becoming a pariah state. Netanyahu promised to destroy Iran’s nuclear threat and that too didn’t happen.
Raz Zarfati at a memorial to her sister, Ron, who was killed in the 7 October attacks. Netanyahu has shifted blame for the disaster.
Add to that the “judicial coup” in the months before 7 October, where Netanyahu tried to weaken the supreme court’s restraint on his power, thereby splitting Israel in two, and the Qatargate scandal, in which his closest aides stand accused of taking money from Doha in return for boosting Qatar’s image. Along with his ongoing corruption trial, it all adds up to the mystery of why Netanyahu was not counted out long ago.
Any explanation begins with the loyalty of his base, built over three decades. Their support for him is unshakeable, unmoved even by reports that Netanyahu received credible warnings of a Hamas attack on 7 October and failed to act. They are kept on side by the PM’s enduring skill in crafting a narrative—in the case of 7 October, that everyone else is to blame except him, that he was kept in the dark by army and intelligence chiefs acting out of incompetence or something more sinister, a baseless claim advanced by his “poison machine” of media and online outriders. And he remains a consummate political operator, so gifted in the business of divide and rule that many can foresee him playing the coalition arithmetic on Wednesday morning far better than any of his rivals.
Still, that prospect has prompted a fierce reaction, one whose intensity can be felt thousands of miles from Israel. In the departure lounges of airports around the globe, you can find expat Israelis, many of them liberal and secular, heading home to vote on Tuesday. I saw it for myself as I travelled in a plane packed with those who felt it their duty to fly back and cast a vote to remove Netanyahu. That’s a group not picked up by pollsters and, who knows, in a contest that could turn on the fate of just one of the Knesset’s 120 seats, it may make a difference.
Some of that same determination was visible at the state ceremony in Jerusalem on Thursday marking the anniversary of the assassination in 1995 of the former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, remembered still as a would-be peacemaker gunned down before a lasting accord with the Palestinians could be struck. It was not well attended—Netanyahu stayed away and sent a low-ranking minister—and it was tempting to view it as further evidence of how far to the right Israel has shifted in these past three decades, in this age of Bibi. Here were the luminaries of the old Israeli left, gathered in a burial ground.
And yet, Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats, successor party of Rabin’s, was dismissive of such talk. A former general who served with Eisenkot, and a hero of 7 October who drove south to rescue people in his own car that fateful day, Golan told me: “I’m optimistic. I never went into battle thinking ‘all right, I’m going to be killed, I’m going to be wounded’. No, I’m going to win, and we are going to win.”
Yair Golan, centre, leader of the Democrats, attends a memorial service for Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv on Thursday. Golan, a former general, says he is confident of success on Tuesday.
Golan even believes he and his fellow opposition leaders can agree on the beginnings of “some sort of a regional, strategic process in order to bring security for the long run”. He didn’t use the words “peace process”, but it’s clear what he meant.
The word “peace” became tainted for many Israelis, associated with moves such as the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza which Netanyahu and his allies havHe succeeded in casting it as an early step on the road to 7 October. And yet it has not vanished. A video went viral earlier this week showing scores of young Israelis at a Negev music festival dancing and singing to Shir LaShalom, the song for peace—the anthem of those 1990s peace efforts and the last song Rabin sang before he was shot leaving a peace rally 31 years ago. Yes, the polls are deadlocked, and yes, Netanyahu is a political magician, but the sight and sound of those young people, like the queues for planes home, have given at least some Israelis hope that change might be coming—that the age of Bibi might, at last, be drawing to a close.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heres a set of FAQs on the topic
Beginner questions
What is this article about
Its about Israels upcoming election and whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can win again despite his legal troubles and deep divisions in the country
Who is Benjamin Netanyahu
Israels longestserving prime minister He has led the country for many years and is known as a master political survivor
Why is Israel described as divided
Israeli society is split over several issues at once Netanyahus leadership and his corruption trial the role of religion in the state the war in Gaza and the treatment of Arab citizens and Palestinians
What is Netanyahus greatest political trick
The idea that against the odds he could again outmaneuver rivals hold his rightwing base and stay in power something critics say he has done repeatedly
Why is this election important
It could decide Netanyahus political future and shape Israels direction on the war the economy and its relationships with allies
Intermediate questions
What legal problems does Netanyahu face
He is on trial for corruption in several cases He denies wrongdoing and calls the charges politically motivated
How could an election help him legally
If he returns to power his coalition partners could push for laws that weaken the courts or limit how cases proceed Critics call this a conflict of interest
What are his main advantages
A loyal base years of experience strong campaigning skills and the ability to frame the race as me versus them
What are his main weaknesses
Ongoing trial public fatigue after many elections blame for the October 7 security failure and difficulty forming a stable coalition
What does forming a coalition mean
Israel uses proportional representation so no party usually wins a majority The winner must build a majority government by teaming up with smaller parties
Advanced questions
What are the common problems in Israeli coalition politics
Small parties hold outsized power governments fall easily and policy gets traded for political survival That instability is a big reason Israel has held so many elections recently
What practical tips help in reading election coverage
Watch seat projections rather than vote percentages track which parties say they will or wont sit with Netanyahu and follow the bloc totals pro vs antiN
