Not many people know, but the godfather in the circumcision of baby Yariv Levin was none other than Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
Begin, it will be recalled, stood before his cabinet ministers in August 1983, informed them that he was resigning and coined the immortal phrase "I can no more." 40 years have passed, and today Yariv Levin speaks to his cabinet colleagues in a similar vein, threatening to resign from the government. For Begin, these were personal and tragic circumstances, and for Levin, the circumstances were more professional – but the despair is clearly felt.
Levin spent many hours last week with Benjamin Netanyahu. He implores, persuades, speaks (rightly) of the government's mandate from the public to carry out the judicial reform, and warns (rightly) that this is the right-wing government's last chance to fully change the judicial system.
The conversations at the President's Residence (archive), photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO
But Levine also knows that the battle has been won. He lost the war. Now they are looking for the formula whose essence is "going to an agreement with a minimum of humiliation." In other words, Netanyahu wants consensual reform with minimal humiliation for Levin.
Ultimately, will Levine resign? Big doubt. Most signs suggest not. When Galant opposed the reform and Netanyahu stopped it, Levin did not resign. Yesterday, Smotrich claimed: "Levin will serve another three and a half years, and I say this from knowledge."
Levin: "It is impossible to accept the composition of the current judicial selection committee; Pushing forward legal reform."
Rothman and Levin. Last night at the plenum, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Despite the loss, it's hard to diminish Levine's influence these days. When Minister Shlomo Krei wanted to announce the reform of the Broadcasting Corporation, Netanyahu called him, and without consultations, without nightly discussions and without meetings on Shabbat, he simply put a brakes on him. With Levin, it's different. Netanyahu knows that his base is going strong with Levin's agenda.
But even if Levin resigns, it is not the end of the government. Reform is important, but government is more important. What's more, nothing better awaits them beyond another election.
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