Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is trying to accomplish two conflicting goals at the same time, which, to his surprise, is not working.
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He tries to keep his Knesset members close, the ones who believed him that not only was he not chasing the illusions of the Left, but he was going to use his power as prime minister to strengthen the Right.
This way they would be able to return to the public from which they emerged as winners, confident that they had made the right exit and that criticism against them was unwarranted.
The Right should have taken steps to stabilize the bloc after the government first took office when it saw how the party leader deceived it publicly.
The prime ministers' grip on the phrase "West Bank" has become a clear sign for right-wingers that Bennett is walking leisurely along the left bank. Then the penny dropped and it became clear that Bennett did not turn to the Left in order to strengthen the Right and return with gifts, but to fortify the "Left Bank." His friends will never be able to claim that they did not see the massive writing on the wall, which began with abandoning his voters and then abandoning those elected by them.
It is clear now that Bennett is looking for a new political home. His new friends built him the old house from start to finish. Bennett's loyal adviser, Shimrit Meir, is working hard to create a "Left Bank" for him, a kind of city of refuge between Foreign Minister and PM-designate Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Bennett, in turn, adopts her approach quickly and piously, abandoning everything that is Right. The same way as when he called Judea and Samaria "West Bank" when he was director of the Yesha Council, with the US secretary of state standing by his side.
Those words were uttered by the same person who condemned them several years prior when they were used by Lapid. Who moved closer to whom? Which ideology got swallowed up by another? Who will raise an eyebrow when Bennet's Left Bank is swallowed up by Lapid, becoming his pride?
Bennett willingly chose to abandon his electorate and fellow party members. As such, their mission is now to establish a new political foothold, as far away as possible from Bennett and his armor-bearer, Ayelet Shaked.
She too will come to understand that the evacuation of the settlements and failure to promote construction in the "West Bank" is a prelude to their entry into the "Left Bank."
Bennett has long made up his mind, which is why right-wing faction meetings have long become a rarity. He understands the plight of his party members, like Nir Orbach and Abir Kara, but has neither the time nor the urge to save them. Although they crossed the Rubicon together, nothing stops the premier from leaving them behind.
Bennett became prime minister without mandates (a number polls say currently stands at 5), but in the impending race for the same electoral spot against Lapid and Gantz, he will certainly lose. Just as he lost in the past.
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