Senior figures in the main Ultra-Orthodox parties made it clear that if opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu does not get a 61-vote majority in the upcoming election, they will propose a rotation government with Gantz who will be the first prime minister. The goal of these statements is to pressure Netanyahu. The ultra-Orthodox can not afford another round in the opposition when no one seriously thinks that they were content in sitting with Lapid and Lieberman
According to the same sources, in the event that the Netanyahu bloc does not reach 61, they will accept Gantz and offer him to head the government together with the right-wing bloc, perhaps with the exception of Ben Gvir.
Netanyahu will be the deputy prime minister, with or without a rotation. This way, the ultra-Orthodox make sure they return to the coalition, sending their bitter rivals into opposition without burning their strong ties with the right. Netanyahu, Yariv Levin, and others tried their best to form an alternative government after pressure was felt mainly from the ultra-Orthodox parties.
A little over a year since forming government, #Israel’s fragile coalition, led by PM #NaftaliBennett, has collapsed, leading to a fifth election in just three years. Read more!https://t.co/shm5X7ovLe#Likud #Bennett #Yamina #Netanyahu #Lapid #WestBank #Bennett #Gantz #Knesset pic.twitter.com/DgmXQXqCpm
— Statecraft (@statecraftdaily) June 21, 2022
It is assumed that Netanyahu will pay almost any price for an alternative government, after a rough meeting with Bezalel Smutritz and Aryeh Deri, in which he understood that it was necessary for them to form a government and not be dragged into the election.
If his bloc gets 61 seats they will absolutely sit with him, not everyone but a lot of them. I can already tell you that the explanation will be that they are “saving Israel form the Kahanists”. You’ll hear a lot about Ben Gvir over the coming months.
— Rafi DeMogge רפי דמוג (@HeTows) June 27, 2022
It is possible that Netanyahu's peers are afraid that they will not get 61 seats and it is possible that they are simply afraid of Itamar Ben Gvir's rising fame. There were even those in the ultra-Orthodox parties who threatened Netanyahu that if he did not get 61 seats in the election, they would sit with the left-leaning parties. Justice Minister and new Tikva chairman Gideon Saar recently received a proposal from Gantz to examine the possibility of running together in the election, and it is possible that this step is also intended to bring the ultra-Orthodox parties closer.
The proposal of the ultra-Orthodox parties to Benny Gantzhttps://t.co/IrESfa69gk
— NEWSRAEL - The 24/7 Live FREE News App! (@NewsraelApp) June 26, 2022
The chairman of the Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich sounds determined to create a coalition with Netanyahu and satisfy many of his voters, yet many different options are ahead and his position can quickly change.
