Former Education Minister, MK Gideon Sa’ar (Likud) on Tuesday morning told Reshet Bet radio that despite the fact that the law allows Benjamin Netanyahu to serve as prime minister as long as he hadn’t been convicted of the criminal charges against him, “the prime minister should accept responsibility. If I were in his shoes I would have resigned and allowed the party to pursue a democratic process, not because of the indictments but because of the impasse.”
“I don’t wish to come up with a new norm for the Prime Minister which is not in the law, I’m only looking for the good of the country,” said Sa’ar, who had been on a self-imposed exile since 2014, from which he returnedonly a year ago.
“Netanyahu has many great things to his credit and he has led the state to many achievements,” Sa’ar stressed, adding, “We followed him and supported him at every stage of the investigations and the government’s recommendations; we also disbanded the previous Knesset at his will, which was a huge mistake.”
“We will lose the government,” Sa’ar warned, “And in my opinion Likud voters want success: no one is above the party and the state.”
Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev (Likud) attacked Sa’ar on the same radio show, saying she was hoping he won’t stick a knife in the back of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think Gideon made a big mistake, he fired inside the troops carrier (you get the metaphor – DI),” Regev said.
Regev argued that the problem in cobbling a rightwing government is not Netanyahu, but the rightwing and the Likud. “With all due respect, I hope he (Sa’ar) will strengthen the Likud, not split it – not use this opportunity to stick a knife in Netanyahu’s back,” Regev said. “Every person has the right to compete, but not before the primaries have been announced. Why the rush? Why does he have to cause a split and weaken the Likud?”
The obvious answer is that Netanyahu has been unable to lead the Likud to a coalition government and it is clear at this point that anyone else at the Likud leadership could probably close a deal with Blue&White for a unity government in under five minutes.
When asked about Regev’s knife-in-Bibi’s-back accusation, Sa’ar told Reshet Bet: “This is an inappropriate terminology. I still remember the distant days when she attacked the Prime Minister and flattered me. No one has been slapped yet forusing flattery.”
Netanyahu in his capacity as Likud chairman, has struck a deal with Likud Center chairman, Minister Haim Katz, to hold the primaries for the Likud leadership in about six weeks, which would obviously torpedo any attempt to take over the party before the end of the Knesset’s 21-day deadline. Sa’ar is fuming about this move, which appears to serve the needs of one man only.
“No one can tell me that it’s possible to go to three election campaigns and drive Israeli citizens nuts, but it’s impossible to hold lightning primaries [ahead of the Knesset deadline],” Sa’ar said, and then declared: “Netanyahu did not fail to establish the government because of me. There would be no problem to reach a unity government (meaning without Netanyahu – DI), and all the problems pertaining to the leave of absence and the president’s outline can be solved.”
“We are losing the government,” Sa’ar reiterated, “and according to the judicial situation we are not far from that point, and we need to get it together.”
MK Yoav Kisch (Likud) rebuked Regev on the same radio show, saying, “We are a democratic movement, the Likud runs primaries. A situation has been created in which some are trying to delegitimize a natural move that is the lifeblood of our movement. The deciders in Likud are the members and the Likud center.”
“Primaries now can prevent a new election,” Kisch argued. “This is a complex event, and the approach of disqualifying individuals and words like subservient and traitor must not be used.”