Netanya informs the president that he has managed to form a government (official website)
Almost two months to the elections, and just before the swearing in of the government, the members of the Likud Knesset are expected to receive today (Wednesday) from Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu the news of their placement in his sixth government.
The Likudniks were excluded and removed from the management of the coalition negotiations and Netanyahu left the division of roles until the very last minute, to avoid the possibility that those disappointed by the placements would endanger the majority of the future coalition for the passage of the personal legislation prior to the swearing in of the government.
This morning, the Knesset plenum is expected to approve the amendment to the police order known as the Ben Gabir Law, and only then will Netanyahu hold the round of meetings with the MKs and future ministers, in which he will inform them of the case or the position they will receive.
The first part of the puzzle will probably be known already in the afternoon: even before the round of personal meetings, Netanyahu is expected to convene the Likud faction and announce the identity of the speaker of the Knesset, one of the most coveted positions in the party, which Yoav Kish, Ofir Akunis, Danny Danon, and Dodi Amsalem requested. Netanyahu , on the other hand, appoints MK Amir Ohana to the position, who wanted to be appointed to the foreign portfolio in the first place, and is not very satisfied with the intended appointment.
However - the prime minister-designate probably prefers to hand over the foreign portfolio to Israel Katz, who has already held the position in the past.
It is true that Ohana is close to Netanyahu and was even ranked higher than Katz in the last primaries, but Katz has internal power in the party and faction that Netanyahu aims to neutralize, especially his alliance with Dodi Amsalem and David Bitan, who currently both remain in the Knesset.
Amsalem created the first drama surrounding the distribution of positions in Likud last night, when at the end of a meeting with Netanyahu he announced his refusal to serve on the portfolios offered to him and his choice to remain outside the government.
Amsalem demanded to be appointed only to the position of Minister of Justice or Speaker of the Knesset, and yesterday Netanyahu finally informed him that he would not comply with his demand, and offered him the portfolio of transportation, economy or energy instead. Amsalem kept his word and tweeted that he will remain a full MK, but in Likud It is estimated that Netanyahu will continue to pressure him and may even keep a vacant case for him to convince him to join the government in the future.
Bitan, who cannot serve as a minister because of his indictment, is expected to serve as chairman of the economy committee in the Knesset. In recent weeks, he has harshly and exceptionally criticized Netanyahu and his conduct in the coalition negotiations, and together with the disappointed Amsalem can produce a loud and independent pivot that will challenge Netanyahu in the Knesset.
The division of roles was delayed until the very last moment.
Likud members in the Knesset, this month (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Ohana's apparent appointment as speaker of the Knesset is intended to vacate the foreign portfolio to Katz, but he will receive it divided or extended - in a rotation or in a division of powers with Netanyahu's associate, the former ambassador to the US Ron Dermer. At first, Netanyahu wanted to appoint Dermer as foreign minister, but now The party agitation over handing over the portfolio to a trusted person who was not elected in the primaries, wants to distribute the position in rotation, or to appoint Dermer as minister of strategic affairs, with responsibility for important foreign policy issues such as Iran, the US and Arab countries.
The Ministry of Strategic Affairs was closed by the previous government and integrated into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the possibility of reviving it and bringing it back into operation is being examined for the benefit of Dermer and the work arrangement between him and Katz.
Besides the Speaker of the Knesset and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the other two senior portfolios in the hands of the Likud are the security portfolio - which is intended for Yoav Galant, and the justice portfolio - which will probably be handed over to Rival Levin. In addition, Netanyahu has about 15 other portfolios to distribute to Likud members: education, transportation, economy, energy , communications, agriculture, tourism, environmental protection, diasporas, science, regional cooperation, intelligence and social equality. Senior Likud officials Eli Cohen and Miri Regev both want the transportation portfolio, and prefer it over the Ministry of Education, whose powers have been cut after the coalition negotiations.
Those disappointed in the election of the Speaker of the Knesset, Akunis and Kish, will be happy to receive compensation in the form of the portfolio of the economy, communications or energy, which is also requested by Nir Barkat and Avi Dichter.
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Will remain a full-fledged MK. Amsalem (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)
Netanyahu is expected to have a special headache with Danny Danon, who stated that he only demands the position of Speaker of the Knesset. Danon has already been known in the past as someone who is not afraid to oppose Netanyahu and to challenge and annoy him from within, and he is already considering entering into a head-on confrontation with him today and presenting his candidacy for Speaker of the Knesset against Netanyahu's candidate in the elections to be held in the faction.
In addition, by virtue of his position as chairman of the global Likud, he also holds the reins of the position of chairman of KKL-Junk, with large budgets and jobs. Therefore, in Likud they estimate that Netanyahu will offer him a ministerial position in order to reach an equation of industrial peace, and perhaps even demand that he resign from the Knesset in return within Norwegian law to minimize his damage potential in the Knesset.
Past experience shows that the puzzle may still change on the fly and there may be surprising last-minute insertions, but in the meantime Miki Zohar is designated for the culture and sports portfolio and the Ministry of Tourism requested, and will probably receive, Haim Katz.
Former Minister of Environmental Protection Gila Gamliel asked to return to her former office, to which Idit Silman is also nominated.
Amichai Shikli asked for the agriculture portfolio, but Shlomo Karai is also interested in the position, or in the Ministry of Economy.
Likud estimates that Netanyahu will offer him a ministerial position to maintain industrial peace.
Danon (Photo: AP)
Currently, it is not known of Likud members who requested or wanted the junior portfolios such as the diaspora, regional cooperation, intelligence, science, and social equality.
According to the assessment in Likud, almost all of the veteran MKs are expected to receive a position in the government or the Knesset - except for Galit Distel Atbarian, whose appointment to minister is in question in light of the sharp conflict between her and Netanyahu's advisers, which was first exposed in Vala. To the new and younger Likudniks, Netanyahu will also offer deputy minister positions and Ambassadors abroad.
He will also share the top positions in the Knesset - the designated coalition chairman is MK Ofir Katz, the chairman of the economy committee will be Bitan, and Likud officials designate Yuli Edelstein as chairman of the foreign affairs and defense committee.
Edelstein has already served as Speaker of the Knesset and Minister of Health in the past, but has weakened in his position in the recent primaries, and according to the assessment, he would rather be Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee than receive a junior and insignificant portfolio in the government.
Netanyahu appointed a generous file manager for the government, a minister for every two members of the Knesset, so that he has enough files to distribute to his party members.
His political challenge is to minimize the degree of disappointment compared to the high expectations, and to dismantle the big mines like Katz and Amsalem.
Likud estimates that none of the disappointed MKs will endanger the formation of the government, but they may later make it difficult for the coalition to function in the Knesset.
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Benjamin Netanyahu
David Amsalam
Amir Ohana
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David Bitan
Israel Katz
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Danny Danon