Naftali Bennett has recently found himself at a crossroads that many prime ministers have faced: on the one hand the desire to survive, on the other hand the pervasive recognition that this is a hopeless struggle.
The conclusion he reached was the obvious conclusion - but he came too late.
The price he has had to pay since the Knesset returned from the holiday after Pesach was too high and cast a heavy shadow over his ability to remain a relevant factor in the political system.
Naftali Bennett's agreement with Yair Lapid effectively blocks any possibility of being part of a right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu in the current Knesset.
The chances of him returning from his promise to Lapid, who will enter the transition prime minister's office next week, are slim.
This does not mean that other elements on the right and with new hope will feel the same sense of commitment and will not act to form such a government.
Ayelet Shaked has already made it clear that she does intend to try to do so.
If Gideon Saar or members of his party join the move, it is possible that this will happen.
The joint statement of Naftali Bennett and Yair and Lapid conveys, beyond all the words said in it, that the two have become one camp - even if they run in two different parties.
Even after violating his main election promise not to sit with Ram and Lapid, Bennett explained a year ago that he had no choice. That a right-wing government is his first choice, but it does not help. To crown Lapid as prime minister as long as Netanyahu is not.
This will be the fifth election in three years.
It will take place on the same terms as four previous elections without the Knesset members changing anything in the system to ensure a different result and a clearer decision.
The current government, the outgoing one, has brought the political system to the bottom in everything related to the political culture in Israel, which has deteriorated in any case.
If until the current government it was unfounded to think that the head of a small party could demand to be a senior minister, then there is also a demand for a presidency that a government no longer seems unfounded.
The ideology and values, which had already faded from their status, completely gave way to jobs and positions.
The records of blackmail that were broken in this government are only a pretext for the appetite of politicians in the next government.
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