On elections, smear campaigns, viruses and coincidence - Chem Shalev in Haaretz:

'The focus on Gantz’s alleged misdeeds seemed to shift the tide of the election campaign, raising renewed fears that Netanyahu would once again work his black magic to dupe voters and achieve an improbable come-from-behind election victory. This would give him the 61-seat Knesset majority that would grant him immunity from the indictments and in the process derail Israeli democracy and rule of law.
Fate and coincidence, however, may have foiled Netanyahu’s designs. Fears that the hapless South Korean pilgrims may have spread the virus far and wide during their week-long tour of Israel effectively erased the Fifth Dimension controversy from the headlines, ending Netanyahu’s smear campaign before it could inflict irreparable damage on his rivals’ campaign.
Which brings us back to square one: complete cluelessness about the results of the pivotal March 2 poll underpinned by conventional wisdom that foresees a continuation of the current political stalemate. For all we know, if Clinton had been similarly “blessed” with the outbreak of a potentially deadly plague before the 2016 vote, the reverberations from her email scandal may have diminished just enough for her to win the election and for history to continue on a radically different path.'

Read the article here.

A continuation of the current political stalemate is perhaps unavoidable, why would people change their mind? Whether their favorite leader has been indicted for corruption or not, to them it's all the same.
But then as Mr. Shalev once again suggests, it's all about the voter who hasn't made up his mind yet, maybe yes, maybe no, and then the news cycle could be the final influencer. Yes, who knows, a deadly "plague" like the Coronavirus might have changed Clinton, or not.
Let's not go there, too many conspiracy theories.
And God knows, we don't need another conspiracy theory.