Upon receiving the mandate to form the next government from President Reuven Rivlin to form the next government, Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid, along with Yamina head Naftali Bennett, said they were working hard to cobble together a coalition, something they will be hard-pressed to do if they intend to stick to their campaign promises.
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When it comes to forming a government, one of Bennett's most problematic promises was to not join a government with Lapid.
In an interview with Channel 20 on March 21, he said, "I will not allow Lapid to become prime minister." He even went so far as to commit to not joining a rotation deal with Lapid in writing. He would later reiterate this commitment in an interview with Channel 12 News.
In an April 24 interview with Israel Radio, Bennet said Lapid "is the Left. We have no problem with him being part of the government as long as he doesn't head it. Netanyahu can only be replaced with the Right."
Bennett's fellow party member Ayelet Shaked spoke in a similar vein, saying they must "not cooperate with a party that supported terrorists. Meretz is less Zionist and nationalist. It is now radical."
Yamina MK Matan Kahana had also said that "if the High Court of Justice approves [controversial Labor party member] Ibtisam Mara'ana, we cannot cooperate with the Labor party."
Yamina sharpened its tone after the High Court of Justice rescinded its decision to ban Mara'ana from running in the most recent elections, calling the move a "disgrace."
"The High Court of Justice is qualifying those who negate Israel as a Jewish state, disparages the memory of the Holocaust, and disparages heroic IDF soldiers," the party said.
Interestingly, in an interview with Channel 12 News in February, Bennett said, "With 10 Knesset seats, you can't demand a rotation …. With 15 Knesset seats, you can go and genuinely change the leadership. I won't be prime minister with 10 Knesset seats. That's not democratic."
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