Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister and Prime Minister-designate Yair Lapid, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, and many others in the coalition government are saying that a scenario that sees Israel once again head to elections would be bad for the state, resulting in instability, the spending of taxpayer funds, and increased polarization in Israeli society.
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Should Bennett and Lapid see that legislation to dissolve the Knesset is advancing and be truly interested in preventing an election, they can act in accordance with Basic Law: The Government and return the mandate to the president. The president would then need to task one of the lawmakers to have garnered the support of 61 Knesset members with forming a government and perhaps preventing yet another election.
Alongside the bill to dissolve the Knesset and the establishment of an alternative right-win government in the current Knesset through a vote of no-confidence, this is a scenario that has yet to be discussed but is being examined by some in the coalition and the opposition. The problem is that Lapid has no interest in agreeing to the move.
The complicated move concerns Article 29 of Basic Law: The Government, which enables Bennett and Lapid to ask the president to dissolve the Knesset in light of the fact that it is disrupting the function of the government.
Once such a request has been submitted, the president issues an order to dissolve the Knesset that goes into effect within 21 days. However, a majority of lawmakers can recommend in writing that the president task one Knesset member who is not the sitting prime minister with attempting to form a new government in the current Knesset. If such a request is submitted, the president can task one of the lawmakers with the mandate to form a government for 28 days and then extend its validity by another 14 days. If the lawmaker tasked with forming a government fails to do so, the Knesset will dissolve and elections will be called.
If the opposition and former coalition member Yamina MK Nir Orbach advance the bill to dissolve the Knesset, such a move could allow Bennett and Lapid to once again control the political situation. By contrast, they now face an uncertain future due to the possibility Orbach could support the bill to dissolve the Knesset and then have Netanyahu try and establish a right-wing government in the current Knesset.
In effect, the article allows the mandate for forming the government to be returned to the president so that an attempt to form one can be made in the current Knesset. The use of this article enables a new government to be formed without having to go to elections.
The chances of this happening are not particularly high. The reason is that Lapid will prefer to head to elections and serve as caretaker prime minister in a transitional government in a scenario that sees Orbach vote to dissolve the Knesset. Lapid has no interest in risking someone else, like Gantz, for example, gathering the support of 61 Knesset members necessary to receive the mandate from the president.
Should no one succeed in garnering the recommendations of a majority of Knesset members to form a government, the Knesset will automatically dissolve, and Bennett and not Lapid will serve as caretaker premier.
The use of this article would significantly cancel out Orbach's power in the political system. If Lapid and Bennett return the mandate to the president, Likud would need to secure a senior ministry role for Orbach, something that would significantly diminish his value.
This framework is in opposition to Lapid's political interest, and it's unlikely Lapid would be interested in it either unless the Knesset's dissolution was a done deal. It seems that if politicians were truly interested in preventing another election, this is the article they would trigger.
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