AS IF things could not get any worse for the embattled leader of the Israeli opposition, Yitzhak “Bougie” Herzog, a year on from his general-election loss to Binyamin Netanyahu in March 2015, it has now emerged that he is under investigation for receiving illegal funding in his leadership campaign three years ago. Mr Herzog, who was questioned by police on April 17th, denies any knowledge of such payments.

But the investigation has put paid to secret talks he had been holding (through intermediaries) to join Mr Netanyahu’s coalition, and has led to calls for Mr Herzog’s suspension from parliament. A coalition position, most likely that of foreign minister, would have proved to be a lifeline for the leader of the Labour Party (the main component of Zionist Union, itself the largest opposition party). He is widely regarded even by his colleagues as incapable of mounting an effective campaign against the prime minister.

Recent polls, taken before the allegations against Mr Herzog were made public, show Zionist Union at risk of losing a third of its current seats in the Knesset to Yesh Atid, a centrist party headed by Yair Lapid, a popular former talk-show host. Mr Lapid is something of a political lightweight and not considered by many Israelis as a credible candidate for national leadership; but he has succeeded where Mr Herzog has failed in keeping up a constant barrage of criticism of the government.

Mr Herzog has succeeded in postponing scheduled leadership primaries which he is obliged to call as a result of his loss to Mr Netanyhu; but challengers are already preparing their campaigns. While rivals have yet to declare officially, they already include a number of prominent Labour parliamentarians such as two former party leaders, Amir Peretz and Shelly Yachimovich, as well as a venture-capitalist millionaire, Erel Margalit, and a former commander of the special forces, Omer Bar-Lev.

In the past 20 years Likud has had only two leaders, Ariel Sharon and Mr Netanyahu, both of whom managed to win elections. Labour has gone through seven in the same period, only one of whom, Ehud Barak, made it to prime minister. Not only has Labour failed to challenge Likud’s dominance of politics; it seems incapable at the moment of presenting a coherent alternative even to other centrist parties that are eating away at its constituency. All this is good news for Mr Netanyahu.