MK (Likud) Danny Danon told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) on Wednesday morning 2 Nissan 5773 that Yesh Atid is making too many demands and if Yair Lapid does not back down, Likud will turn to the chareidi parties to make a deal or head for elections. Danon stated Lapid and his colleagues are simply exaggerating their negotiating position and if a deal is to be reached, the party will have to back down and begin showing some flexibility.
Danon explains that Shas and Yahadut Hatorah combined have 18 seats while Lapid has 19, simply explaining his one extra seat is not essential. It appears Danon premises his statement on the recent growing tensions between Yesh Atid and Bayit HaYehudi and the fact that the latter may now agree to enter the coalition without the former.
The issue appears to be the fact that Lapid is demanding both the interior and education ministries, while Likud is not willing to turn over control of the Minister of Education to Lapid’s party. Complicating matters even more is the fact that this compels Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to reopen the deal signed with The Movement, informing Tzipi Livni that while she will be the minister of justice, the party will not receive a second cabinet post as planned. Livni however is adamantly opposed to reopening the signed deal, leading Lapid to telling Likud that it will have to settle for one less ministerial post, which the prime minister is unwilling to accept. Lapid appears equally unwilling to accept one less cabinet appointment so they are deadlocked since Lapid insists the government may not exceed 21 ministers including the prime minister.
One of the issues that is leading to increasing tensions between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is both parties are demanding control over the Knesset Finance Committee. Bennett feels that since Lapid is going to be finance minister, the committee should go to him. Lapid feels since Bennett’s party has 12 seats while his party has 19, and therefore he should get the spot.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
1. The biggest tension is that Bennett is shooting himself in the foot by supporting policies so anti-hareidi that it not only will force the haredim to ally with Labor in the future, but are even alienating his own core constituency with the result that he is likely to lose seats in the future to Likud, which is being more pro-Torah that what was once called the “National Religious Party.”
2. If Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu run separately they might do much better. Some secular people from Yisrael Beiteinu may have objected to being part of Likud, and some religious Likudniks might have objected to be part of Yisrael Beiteinu. The polls showing Lapid “winning” don’t reflect this.
WOW!!! Hasgocha Pratios at work
This could have worked out better!!
Watch as new elections are called and Yesh Atid gets only a handful of seats…and goes into the “dusbin of history”
..and watch as the old National Religious Party (Bennett) return to its “non-entity” status
CORRECTION “Dustbin of History”
Don’t get too excited. This is just good old bazaar haggling. Likud has no coaltion without Lapid and is in no position to go to elections. There are several ways to close this deal – and close it will.