Amid the parade of party leaders to consult with the president, two coalitions have emerged. One thing they have in common is that neither has a majority. Another thing in common is that neither includes Naftali Bennett, although just one offers him the chance to be prime minister.
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Yamina representatives at the President's Residence in Jerusalem recommended Bennett, the party chairman, as the next prime minister. The move revealed that he still desires the premiership, even after receiving only seven mandates in the election. Yair Lapid gave Bennett the premiership, for the first two years in a rotation government, on a silver platter, but Bennett is wavering. He fears he will be blamed for creating a left-wing government with his own hands, not to mention one that relies on Arab MKs. To sweeten the bitter pill, he asked Lapid to add a significant right-wing flavor: the finance, justice, interior, religious affairs and culture portfolios, and anything else that's important and relevant to right-wing voters. He also asked for a majority of ministers in the government and the cabinet. Lapid, thus far, has rejected the proposal.
The second channel through which Bennett is working is opposite Netanyahu. Here he would not be the first prime minister in a rotation, or at all apparently, but could receive any portfolio his heart desires. Netanyahu, however, doesn't have a majority, even with him. The last message from Yamina officials to the Likud was that if Netanyahu is tapped by the president to form the government, he can count Yamina as part of his coalition. Netanyahu would only have to secure two defectors or persuade Bezalel Smotrich to accept outside support from the Ra'am party. If Netanyahu fails to do either of these things, the blame would not fall on Yamina.
If Netanyahu indeed receives the president's mandate and fails to form a government, Bennett will do all he can to bring the Haredi factions and Smotrich into another government. His message to Smotrich will be: If relying on the Arab factions is such a terrible threat, as you claim, do the right thing and join a different coalition to save the country. The belief is that neither Smotrich nor the Haredi factions will abandon Netanyahu for a Bennett-Lapid-Labor coalition.
Yair Lapid rushed to issue his own statement to the press after Netanyahu, who lambasted the prosecution. According to Lapid, Netanyahu's remarks indicate he is unfit to be prime minister and must be replaced as quickly as possible. He called on Bennett to conclude their negotiations and form a joint government.
Lapid's comments, however, only highlighted his detachment from right-wing sentiment, which mostly supports Netanyahu. And those who don't – such as Bennett and Gideon Sa'ar voters – really don't believe the state prosecutor is a sacred cow that mustn't be touched. The man he is now calling on to join a rotation government, we recall, worked with Ayelet Shaked to change the character of the Supreme Court and boasted of it at every opportunity. Just a small example of why this connection, one minute after removing Netanyahu from power, will fall apart at the seams in short order.
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