The prime minister-designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, defines himself as a successful amateur chess player.
In the past he bragged about getting a draw against Natan Sharansky, who is considered an excellent chess player.
But right now he is playing against Bezalel Smotrich, who doesn't obey the rules, and at this point it looks like he might land a check on the king.
Smotrich, unlike Itamar Ben Gabir or designated ministers from the Likud or any other party, does not look at the immediate impact, status, budgets.
He looks forward and far.
He has mapped out the path to the prime ministership, and will do whatever it takes to get there.
He is young, and the road is not fast for him.
The country is changing its face, and he will be there to reap the rewards.
At this point he is playing chicken against Netanyahu.
Who will blink first?
Who will fold?
He knows Netanyahu's strengths and weaknesses, did not hesitate to call him a "liar son of a liar", and did not hesitate to torpedo him in the past for forming a government with the support of Mansor Abbas.
Eventually, Smotrich would get the job where he could, you wouldn't believe it, look stately.
At this stage he does not want to be just the representative of the settlers, but the representative of the people.
He did so when he was in the Ministry of Transport for about a year.
He did not take advantage of the position to promote roads in Judea and Samaria, even if he paved there.
He insisted on establishing a 2+ route - something that his previous transport ministers had not done, he promoted with all his might and personally followed the implementation, and when it was necessary to correct - he corrected.
The public revolted, and today everyone welcomes this route, which forces drivers not to travel alone, but at least with another person or two.
Those who were with him in the political-security cabinet know how to tell that he did not get angry, studied the material and did not express extreme positions and opinions.
was stately.
Smotrich has become more cautious in recent years.
The one who once led the "Beast Parade" and said he was a proud homophobe, then explained that he was unaware of the meaning of the phrase, will not be caught again coming out against the LGBT community.
He will use washed-up words, and will not try to impose his views in the short term.
As mentioned, he looks forward and far.
He also knows that his positions have become popular.
Indeed, it is worth paying attention to the fact that Smotrich's influence is broad and touches even the ruling party, the Likud itself.
Smotrich and his positions became a role model, and resulted in the Likud becoming more radical.
He winks at the extreme right, whose power is growing from election to election, and was reflected in the last elections with 14 mandates for him and Ben Gabir.
In the past, when he still served as a representative of the Takuma party in the Jewish House, I wrote as follows: "Don't be fooled by the blue eyes, the careful beard, the measured words, and not even by the lawyer's degree he holds in his hand.
"MK Bezalel Smotrich is taking advantage of all of this to blind and divert the focus from the extreme discourse he instills and the blatant actions he seeks to carry out in large parts of Judea and Samaria and Israel.
"In his quiet, but blunt way, he instills his extreme positions far beyond his lone voice in the Knesset."
I haven't changed my mind.
Even if he broadcasts statesmanship - at the end of the day, and if he reaches a position of decisive influence, Smotrich will not hesitate to carry out what he believes in - the establishment of a Halacha state.
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