Wednesday's right-wing rally in Jerusalem received quite the boost after Coalition Chairwoman Idit Silman announced her resignation from the government.
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What seemed like a distant dream, with a government whose various factions were steadfast about marching ahead together, began to fall apart earlier than expected due to the loss of the government majority.
Unless the coalition finds an alternative before the Knesset resumes, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will be forced to hand over the keys. A government that has neither a Knesset majority nor a safety net from a single political party in the opposition cannot function.
This is probably what Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will focus their efforts on in the few weeks they have left. A rearguard action. Had the incident occurred a few months ago, they could have easily found a replacement from the Joint Arab List. They have proved already that nothing matters more than the stability of the coalition. Not Ra'am chief Mansour Abbas, and if necessary, not even Joint Arab List MK Ahmad Tibi.
However, in the meantime, Tibi has changed tunes, having gone from supporting the current coalition to joining efforts to topple it. As for Ra'am, the closer it got to the coalition, the more it distanced itself from the opposition.
Obviously, neither Bennett nor Lapid recognized the threat of Silman's resignation and, therefore, made no attempts to prevent it. In Yamina, Bennett and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked did not suspect any trouble would come from Silman. Not even when she questioned Nitzan Horowitz's ability to be health minister.
As the coalition tries to salvage the situation, the Likud and the rest of the opposition are doing their utmost to prevent that. The race has begun, with only one side destined to come out on top.
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