With just two days to the Likud's mandate to form a coalition government and the political system no closer to a decision, the assessment is that Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and his fellow party member Ayelet Shaked have decided against joining a government with Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid, New Hope's Gideon Saar, and the left-wing parties.
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The trouble is that Bennett's decision to join forces with Netanyahu won't get the parties any closer to establishing a right-wing government due to Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich's continued opposition to a government that relies on the outside support of the Islamist Ra'am party and Sa'ar's refusal to join a government that sees Netanyahu serve as the second prime minister in a rotation deal.
Sources in the right-wing bloc told Israel Hayom: "Bennett is trying to stick with us because it is very difficult to establish a government from the other side. Everyone understands there's a problem, the gaps are big."
According to the source, Gantz wants the Defense and Justice Ministry portfolios, while Sa'ar is interested in the Justice and Education Ministry portfolios. Shaked, on the other hand, wants to head the Justice Ministry, and Labor head Meirav Michaeli wants the Education Ministry.
These demands "don't converge, and that's without taking into account baselines," the source said.
"Everything is complicated and problematic there, and that's why Bennett is telling himself that if he has a chance of receiving the premiership anyway, it would be best to do it from the right-wing bloc. And even if he doesn't succeed in establishing a government with the right-wing bloc and left-wing bloc, he would be better of [making it to another round of] elections without the stain of someone who tried to go with the Left."
Sources who spoke to Bennett in recent days claimed that "if he wanted to, and he had enough determination, he would have established a government for change in two days. He is still fighting to establish a right-wing government."
The only way a right-wing government can be formed is if another round of either general or direct elections is held or two lawmakers will be willing to defect so that the Right has the 61-member majority necessary to form a coalition.
Sources in the so-called "change" bloc on Sunday said Bennett and Shaked "decided to collapse the change bloc. They say the two are working on forming a government with Netanyahu and not Lapid.
For their part, Yamina officials said they were adhering to their initial plan of trying to establish a right-wing government, and should those efforts fail, doing everything to avoid dragging the country to another round of elections.
They said that after Netanyahu changed his stance and, according to sources close to Gantz, was willing to offer him the first two years in a rotation agreement, the prime minister would now agree to a rotation deal that sees him make way for another lawmaker for a period of one to two years. While party officials continue to press Sa'ar to join such a right-wing government, the New Hope leader remains adamantly opposed to such a move.
Nevertheless, sources in the political system caution against taking these last-minute statements too seriously. They say the demands and threats from figures such as Bennett are aimed at raising the stakes and pressuring Lapid to agree to Bennett being tasked with forming the next government. Sources close to Lapid say the Yesh Atid leader is concerned that if Bennett receives the mandate, he will form a government with Likud, the Religious Zionist Party, Shas, and United Torah Judaism.
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