fbpx

Comment and Opinion

Al-Monitor: What Bibi-Lieberman alliance means for Israel’s opposition, by Mazal Mualem

[ssba]

On May 20, soon after recently resigned Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon announced that he isn’t quitting politics, and that he would run in the future for a top spot in the country’s leadership, the new chairman of the coalition, Knesset member David Bitan of the Likud, was quick to provide his own interpretation of this statement. He determined that Ya’alon would assume the No. 2 slot in Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party.

It is doubtful that Bitan based his remarks on any real information he might have. It is far more reasonable to assume that this was simply an assessment that fit in neatly with all the dizzying events that reshuffled the Israeli political deck and allowed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to open the Knesset’s summer session on May 23, with a stable coalition of 66 members.

Now that he has resigned from the government and Knesset, it looks like Ya’alon is about to leave the Likud Party as well. In other words, Bitan’s scenario is not at all unfounded. Assuming that the former defense minister intends to keep his promise and remain a central figure in Israeli politics, Yesh Atid — the second-largest party in the current polls — is a perfect fit for him. He will just have to put his ego aside, when the time comes, because Lapid as the chairman of that party has no plans to give up his position to anyone.

Read more at Al-Monitor