Netanyahu / Bennett
Photo: AFP/ Alex Kolomoisky
Netanyahu vows not to form government with left
Netanyahu's fight with Bennett for rightwing votes escalates as prime minister says he will not form a government with center-left camp: 'Ideological gap to wide to bridge.'
As Benjamin Netanyahu battles Naftali Bennett for the heart of rightwing voters, the prime minister announced he will not form a coalition with leftist parties and urged voters to help his Likud party make significant gains in the March 15th election.
"The prime minister made clear that he will not form a government with left wing parties and that (Bennett's) Bayit Yehudi party will sit in the government," a statement said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: AFP)
Though he didn't name the Zionist Camp, Netanyahu did directly name its leaders in the statement, saying "there is a wide ideological chasm between the Likud and Buji (Isaac Herzog) and Tzipi (Livni) and the Labor's anti-Zionist list."
The background to the statement has less to do with the center-left Zionist Camp and more with Netanyahu's struggle to consolidate his base of rightwing voters, which is increasingly threatened by Bennett whose Bayit Yehudi has been slowly moving to the center-right, threatening Netanyahu.
Bennett (L) and Netanyahu (R) fight for heart of right (Photo: AFP/ Alex Kulmonyski)
If Netanyahu convinces his voters that the Bayit Yehudi will be part of his coalition anyway, he can shift the debate towards the risk posed by the fall of the entire right should the center-left bloc win.
The Bayit Hayehudi for their part say that by the same logic, rightist who fear a leftwing government should choose their party, which they say will be the swing vote in deciding if Netanyahu or Herzog lead Israel.
In response, the Zionist Camp sarcastically praised the prime minister for telling the truth for the first time by admitting there is no difference between the Likud and Bennett's party, parts of which are considered far-right.
"Netanyahu's statement makes clear that these elections are between the Zionist Camp and the far-right. We will make sure the right will cooperate amongst itself when they sit on the opposition bench," a statement from the party said.
