Barring last-minute unforeseen circumstances, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett will announce in a meeting with his faction on Sunday that he has agreed to form a coalition government with Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid, sources in the faction who spoke to Bennett told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday night.
Bennett informed Lapid of his decision on Friday. They agreed that Bennett would serve first as prime minister until September 2023, after which Lapid would take over until the term ends in November 2025. But sources in Yamina said there are still some disputes with Yesh Atid that remain unresolved.Final coalition deals will be signed by Monday and submitted to the Knesset. The swearing-in ceremony could take place as early as Wednesday, but legally, once Lapid tells President Reuven Rivlin that he could form a government, he has a week to bring the government to a vote of confidence in the Knesset.
Of course, the dealing and horsetrading over the next 48 hours will be mind- numbing, and PM Netanyahu is pulling out all the stops to retain power:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu manoeuvred on Sunday to try to dissuade opponents from forming a "government of change", with media reports saying a deal to unseat Israel's longest-serving leader could be imminent.
Opposition chief Yair Lapid, who has until Wednesday to put together a coalition after the fourth inconclusive election in two years, was closing in on an alliance of right-wing, centrist and leftist parties, Israeli media reported.
The new coalition's parties would have little in common apart from a plan to end the 12-year-run of Netanyahu, a right-wing leader on trial over corruption charges he denies. [snip]
Netanyahu, 71, made a sudden three-way counter-offer on Sunday to stand aside in favour of another right-wing politician, Gideon Saar. Under Netanyahu's blueprint, Saar would serve as prime minister for 15 months, Netanyahu would return for two years, and Bennett would then take over for the rest of the government's term.
"We are at a fateful moment for Israel's security, character and future, when you put aside any personal considerations and take far-reaching and even unprecedented steps," Netanyahu said in a video statement on Twitter about the proposal.
However, Saar, a former Likud cabinet minister, swiftly rejected the offer, writing on Twitter: "Our position and commitment are unchanged - to end Netanyahu's rule."
Netanyahu is the ultimate political survivor, but this just might be where his story ends. Stay tuned.
(Photo: two right- wing leaders with corruption issues/ Ronan Zvulun, Reuters)
