Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer seeking a government that relies on the outside support of the Ra’am Party (United Arab List).
While Netanyahu no longer sees any chance of forming a government, he still intends to maintain his mandate to form a government, which ends on May 4, his associates said.
Instead, he would seek a direct election for prime minister, which will pass if Yamina supports it, Netanyahu said. “We don’t need Ra’am,” he said. “We need a direct election to form a government.”
When asked if he condemned the repeated attacks on Ra’am by Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu declined to comment, which angered Ra’am MKs.
Meanwhile, in a statement from Likud, “[Naftali] Bennett refuses to support the only solution to the political deadlock that does not involve destroying the Right: a quick vote to elect a prime minister that does not involve the dissolution of the Knesset and another round of elections.” According to Bennett, electing a prime minister without having a Knesset that supports him will not solve the crisis but will only give power to whomever is elected.
It is clear that there are many players in this political game. Eventually, we’ll see who is most skillful.
As Netanyahu continues to try to fulfill the mandate to form a government, we continue to hope for the “right” outcome.
Sources:
Netanyahu gives up on forming a government, by Gil Hoffman. Jerusalem Post, April 20, 2021