Yamina members are split about what to do if the party winds up in a position to complete a coalition for Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who currently holds the mandate to form a government.
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While Yamina members close to party chairman Naftali Bennett are still saying that Bennett has not gone back on his decision during Operation Guardian of the Walls to drop the option of joining a unity government with other anti-Netanyahu factions, other party officials have been hinting in the past few days that the door to a Lapid government is still open.
Bennett's staff say that since his announcement that he had stopped negotiations with Lapid, the two have not been in contact, nor have their staffers. Bennett's staff say he is determined not to form a government with left-wing parties, or with any Arb party.
Still, other senior members of Yamina are sending different signals. These officials say that while they would certainly prefer a right-wing government, if Lapid fails to form a government and loses the mandate next week, the result would be a fifth election. If that appears likely, they say, negotiations between Bennett and Lapid could still re-launch at the eleventh hour.
Meanwhile, Yamina No. 2 Ayelet Shaked continues to push for a right-wing government, and is reportedly pressing New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar and various other right-wing politicians to join a government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prevent another election. However, as of Wednesday morning, Shaked has not been successful.
The prevailing assessment is that if Bennett ultimately decides to join a unity government, Shaked will not split the party or abstain from voting.
On Monday, Yamina officials reported that they had received a message from the Likud that in the case that a right-wing government could not be formed and the Knesset would have to be dissolved yet again, Netanyahu would be willing to reserve eight places on the Likud list for Yamina members.
Likud officials said that Netanyahu would find it difficult to reserve more than four or five places on the list for Yamina members, as Likud members would resist having so many set aside for members of another list.
The Likud denied that Yamina had been offered any reserved places on the party list. Yamina did not respond to the report.
Meanwhile, in another political development, Lapid has reportedly completed negotiations with Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman to join a unity government under his leadership.
According to officials involved in the talks, Lapid and Lieberman agreed that if Lapid forms a government, Lieberman would be appointed finance minister. In addition, an MK from Yisrael Beytenu would be appointed chair of the Knesset Finance Committee, which thus far has been controlled by the Haredi factions, and Yisrael Beytenu would be assigned two more ministerial portfolios, including the Negev and Galilee Development Ministry.
"In negotiations we agreed on the fundamentals of a government," representatives of the two party leaders said, adding that Lapid and Lieberman had also agreed on a need to pass a law to launch national projects as a growth engine, to include two new hospitals to be built in the Negev and the Galilee, an airport at Nevatim, and a light rail.
Negotiations also settled on a guaranteed minimum old-age pension that would stand at 70% of the minimum wage.
Representatives of the two leaders also said that agreements had been reached about "religion and state," but did not provide details.
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