Last month, when President Reuven Rivlin met with party leaders in the wake of the March 23 elections, he said that were it completely up to him – and given that he doesn't believe any candidate could cobble together a coalition – he would task the Knesset with forming a government.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
It is only because the law requires him to task a lawmaker with the mission that he vested the mission with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said.
Even when Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked tried to convince Rivlin to task Yamina leader Naftali Bennett with forming the government – when it became clear that Netanyahu would be unable to succeed – the president said he saw no reason to do so.
Little has changed over the past two weeks, to why does it seem like Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid is Rivlin's next obvious choice?
There is only one reason that could prompt Rivlin to task Lapid with forming the next government and unfortunately, it's not Israel's best interest that he has at heart.
After the March 2020 elections, when Rivlin refused to give Netanyahu the mandate and vested it in parliament, saying that the good of the state favored expediency over an additional 28 days of coalition talks.
This time, it seems that even if Bennett secures endorsements from more MKs, Rivlin is determined to give the mandate to Lapid, as he is prone to believe the right-wing bloc has no chance to form a government.
That, however, is not the case. Bennett has options that Lapid does not. Yesh Atid's leader has no coalition to speak of and in any case, his best option is a power-sharing deal with Bennett, and with Bennett serving as prime minister first.
Vesting the mandate with Lapid rather than with Bennett or the Knesset will be the most skewed decision ever made by an Israeli president. It would mire Rivlin's legacy and taint the presidential institution.
So what made the president prefer Lapid, contrary to any norm, logic or past conduct of Israeli presidents, including Rivlin himself? The simple answer is: Gideon Sa'ar.
Sa'ar was Rivlin campaign manager when he ran for president. Not, Rivlin is Sa'ar campaign manager in the mission to unseat Netanyahu.
Sa'ar, whose mission in life has become to oust Netanyahu, wants Lapid to be tasked with forming the coalition. Legislation will come to a halt over Yesh Atid's control over the Arrangements Committee, the law of direct election of the prime minister will be shelved, and laws actually targeting Netanyahu could be pushed through.
As Sa'ar can't really rely on Yamina, he needs Lapid.
What if Rivlin did not task Netanyahu with forming the government over his chances but over a request from Sa'ar in the first place?
Even before the election, New Hope officials estimated that Sa'ar's chances of orchestrating Netanyahu's ouster run through the giving Netanyahu take the first crack at forming a government.
It seems that just before his term ends, Rivlin is interested in repaying his benefactor. This tells the whole story of a presidential term colored by discordant political tones.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
