Since Benjamin Netanyahu sat down for the first time on the prime minister's throne 27 years ago and until he returned to it for the sixth time, the ministers around him changed, prime ministers retired from politics and only he remained. Did Netanyahu think in 2015 when Smotrich was first elected to the Knesset on the list under Naftali Bennett, that within seven years he would be sworn in as Minister of Finance in his government and Bennett would watch the swearing in from home? It seems not.
Even though the whole environment has changed, it seems that in certain things Netanyahu remains the same.
The swearing-in of the government started late, when at the last moment the division of cases in Likud had not yet been closed.
It is not clear why Netanyahu, a man with a wealth of experience, continues to drag out these appointments again and again to the last minute, only in the name of paranoia that some of the disillusioned will revolt at the last minute against the government.
Photo: Knesset Channel
Netanyahu and Braverman, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Katz finally relented late in a strange rotation on the foreign portfolio - first year Eli Cohen, two years Katz and then Cohen again.
In Likud they thought that when Netanyahu said "no rotations and no mutations", he meant his chair only, as far as Likud members are concerned, he is more flexible.
Netanyahu and the new government ministers showed smiles everywhere, but the row of chairs in the plenum where Dodi Amsalem, Danny Danon and David Bitan were sitting next to each other did not go unnoticed by Netanyahu's entourage.
The three disgruntled are joined by Yuli Edelstein who is not committed to Netanyahu and stressed to him: "You are not giving me the position of chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, I will run for him in a faction."
The committee of two
Israel Katz's agreement to serve as a second Cohen in a rotation with Eli Cohen was not well received by those around him. "The feeling that he folded, he lost a lot of points in the faction for that," say Likud officials. It was enough to see Dodi Amsalem's reaction after Israel Katz approached him To shake his hand after he was sworn in as minister, to understand what Amsalem thought of the move.
The meaning of the disaffected in Likud does not threaten the existence of the government since they have no legitimacy to overthrow a right-wing government.
But this is an experienced group that will not miss an opportunity to hurt Netanyahu.
The examples will range from expressing a firm opinion in the faction on anything that looks like surrendering to a partnership contrary to the Likud interest, to heaping difficulties on legislation.
However, in other matters, it is Netanyahu who is trying to mark new lines, for now at least outwardly.
Katz and Regev in the oath, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The appointment of Yariv Levin as Minister of Justice is a significant signal that the Prime Minister intends this time to promote changes in the justice system.
Initially, the coalition agreements were supposed to include a legal annex with the sections to be promoted, but Levin has not yet finalized his plan, he is expected to do so in the coming days.
Levin's partner in the reforms will be the chairman of the Constitution Committee, Simcha Rothman. If you will, the anchor for there not to be a softening in the active approach to change. Rothman will not let his committee pass an override clause with a majority of more than 61.
In the new coalition, the two have already earned the nickname: the "Committee of Two", as the committee that recommends to the President of the Supreme Court which judges to promote is called.
Without being noticed, Levin also managed to get the title of Deputy Prime Minister.
A title without authority but intended to transmit status within the Likud, this with the aim of maintaining its power.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Rival Levin.
They plan to promote changes in the judicial system, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Elkin's exercise
The defining event in the swearing in of the government were the words of the new Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana: "Alon is with me, my other half.
This Knesset under my leadership will not harm any family.
The speech drew applause from opposition members as well, while some ultra-Orthodox members of the Knesset wrinkled their noses and bowed their heads. Ohana was elected with a majority of votes, both of the ultra-Orthodox and of Avi Maoz, and in his election he conveyed a message to the general public that a halachic state will not be established here and the panic is exaggerated.
However, the issue of religion and the state, which is also reflected in relation to the LGBT community, is one of the cracks in the coalition. The opposition will not hesitate to introduce pro-LGBT bills to try to embarrass Ohana so that he will not be able to oppose them, and once again spread the images from the ultra-Orthodox reactions.
Speaker of the Knesset Ohana, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Zeev Elkin, the most experienced of the opposition members and the leader of the parliamentary struggle in the government, has already managed to scoop up a nice political exercise.
Elkin demanded to know if there are any political agreements that are not included in the coalition agreements.
His goal was that the rotation agreements would be recorded in the protocol and thus the coalition would be more obligated to uphold them.
The rotations in the offices are a pressure point within the government, and the feeling is that they will not take place, but it is too early to tell.
Zeev Elkin.
managed to scoop a nice political exercise, photo: Yehuda Peretz
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