Yaïr Lapid has gained credibility since his beginnings in politics, until he rose to the rank of main rival of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. – DEBBIE HILL / AP / SIPA
A former Israeli TV star is about to end 12 years of power under Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli opposition leader Yaïr Lapid called President Reuven Rivlin late Wednesday evening to tell him that he had managed to gather in extremis the support necessary for the formation of a coalition government, his services said in a statement. .
Yaïr Lapid, who had until 11:59 p.m. (20:59 GMT) to tell the president that he had gathered these voices, made the announcement after rallying right-wing parties and the Arab Israeli Raam in the evening to support his future government . And his team released an image of the coalition agreement signed by the leaders of eight Israeli parties – two from the left, two from the center, three from the right and one Arab – which could mark a turning point in Israel’s political history.
Everything divides the motley coalition on paper
Status quo in the conflict with the Palestinians, economic revival, place of religion: everything on paper divides the motley coalition apart from its desire to bring down Benjamin Netanyahu, who came to power 25 years ago, from 1996 to 1999, then reappointed in 2009, and indicted for corruption.
The Leader of the Opposition and his partners now have seven days to divide the portfolios and secure a vote of confidence from Parliament. But despite this progress, and the first coalition agreement formed without Benjamin Netanyahu in two years, anything is still possible.
A government that “will respect those who oppose it”
The last time an Israeli Arab party supported – but did not participate in – a government dates back to 1992 during Yitzhak Rabin’s “peace government”. This time the Islamist Arab formation Raam led by Mansour Abbas officially signed a coalition agreement without indicating at this stage whether it would participate actively in the government.
“This government will be at the service of all citizens of Israel including those who are not members of it, will respect those who oppose it, and will do everything in its power to unite the different components of Israeli society,” said Yaïr Lapid to President Rivlin, according to the press release. And to add on his Facebook page: “I succeeded”, according to the formula in Hebrew.
Netanyahu reportedly tries to block parliament’s deal
Benjamin Netanyahu, his right-wing Likud party and his lawyers are in the process of trying to prevent such a deal from gaining parliamentary approval. According to the Israeli press, the Speaker of Parliament, Yariv Levin (Likud), could be tempted to drag out for a few more days the organization of the vote of confidence in Parliament, hoping in this interval of defections in the anti-Netanyahu camp.
In front of the hotel where the negotiations are taking place, hundreds of pro or anti “coalition of change” demonstrators gathered with Israel flags in hand, under high police surveillance.
Bennett and Lapid’s safety strengthened
Coincidentally, if the Israelis still had no government on Wednesday, they had a new elected president, the eleventh of Israel. Labor Isaac Herzog, 60, was elected by a very large majority by the plenary parliament, to this essentially honorary function and devoid of executive power. At this session of Parliament, the protagonists of the Israeli political soap opera, some had continued, looking exhausted, confident or worried from the benches and under the watchful eye of the cameras, the negotiations.
These talks around Yair Lapid had dragged on since Naftali Bennett’s decision on Monday to join the anti-Netanyahu camp. Naftali Bennett is tipped to be the future prime minister as part of a power rotation planned in the coalition project, supposed to end the longest political crisis in the country’s history. In this climate of strong tensions where a possible government agreement is denounced as a “betrayal” by the pro-Netanyahu, the security of Bennett and Lapid has been reinforced.