The government established on Sunday, finally, has plenty of bright points. Let's start with the fact that there is a government at all, which is not something to take for granted after such a long period of political instability.
What's more, the new government includes plenty of good and worthy appointments. It is also good news in terms of representation for women and some sectors. The new government also has something to offer when it comes to social issues.
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The main political goals will be applying Israeli law to settlements in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, along with addressing the serious economic crisis that developed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the healthcare system.
However, the new government also has some black spots that could have been avoided. The first is the absence of Yamina. It's also a real shame that after three election campaigns in which legal issues became a main agenda item for the Right, they are now being neglected in the coalition deal with Blue and White.
At a Yamina faction meeting on Sunday, all its members expressed staunch determination to stay in the opposition. The more time passes, the more they realize that the Haredi factions fully cooperated with Prime Minister Netanyahu's gambit, even though it seemed that the Haredim were trying to give the impression that they were working to bring Yamina in.
Yamina members said that while Netanyahu had kept the leadership of the Knesset Finance Committee in the hands of the Haredim, he had also handed over the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee -- which Yamina had chaired -- to United Torah Judaism. And while Shas leader Aryeh Deri and UTJ leader Yakov Litzman could pick their own portfolios, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett had not been given either the education or the defense portfolios. They are saying that the Haredim not only did not protest Yamina's exclusion, but they also took part in it and were happy to take over the roles left vacant.
After the justice portfolio was given to Blue and White, any significant legal developments will come from the Knesset. The appointment of Yariv Levin to the post of Knesset speaker could turn out to be the last bastion of separation of powers.
