Yair Lapid's ploy, to announce progress with a different party every several hours, was met with cynicism and derision, because although his bloc does consist of many parties, all together they still don't equal the required 61 seats.
Lapid is stepping on the gas hard while stuck in neutral because without Naftali Bennett all his efforts will be for naught. On Wednesday, it became apparent that he could be the one with the last laugh. And not just him: Also laughing will be Merav Michaeli, Nitzan Horowitz, Tamar Zandberg and Yair Golan; Gideon Sa'ar as well. Because Bennett, who had declared he closed the door on the so-called pro-change bloc, couldn't get far enough away before intimating he was open to making a U-turn.
As things currently stand, the plan Yair Lapid set in motion is bearing fruit. A giant question mark still hangs over a future government, but instigating all-out war within the right-wing camp can certainly move him closer to achieving his goal. The fact that Lapid managed to create the impression that his plan of forming an alternative government is progressing, has led the other players past the boiling point. Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked accused Netanyahu of failing to attract defectors after announcing they would eschew a left-wing government; Netanyahu accused Bennett and Shaked of refusing to sign a coalition deal in the meantime; Bezalel Smotrich accused the duo of playing both sides; and they accused him of rejecting a right-wing government of 59 mandates that would have to rely on outside support from the Arab Ra'am party.
The seminal event that sparked the explosion in the right-wing camp occurred during the meeting between Shaked, Smotrich, and Rabbi Haim Drukman. The early warning signs, however, were already there. After Yamina rejected the pro-change government, Smotrich wondered why talks between Bennett and Netanyahu were not progressing. With every day that passed without any headway, his bewilderment grew. According to Smotrich, after digging deeper he discovered that Shalom Shlomo, Bennett's political adviser, was still telling officials in the pro-change bloc that the option was still on the table. At that moment, Smotrich realized that Bennett was sabotaging the possibility of enticing defectors or Sa'ar's New Hope party. They will join, believes Smotrich, if they know the choice is between a right-wing government and another election. As long as they believe there's another option, they won't come aboard. According to Shaked, at that fateful meeting with Smotrich and Drukman, she learned there was just one person preventing the formation of a right-wing government: Bezalel Smotrich, of all people. Smotrich, according to Shaked, was convinced that if Yamina signed a coalition deal, Sa'ar, or at least some members of his party, would have no choice but to join.
Likud officials didn't rush to enter the right-wing fracas, although Netanyahu also has things to say. Those close to the prime minister say that Smotrich is correct, evidenced by the fact that two weeks after Bennett declared he wouldn't join a pro-change government, he still hasn't signed a coalition deal with the Likud.
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