Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said he should be tapped next to form a government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mandate expires on Tuesday and that the Yamina party under the leadership of Naftali Bennett should be part of it.
"No one has made more concessions or worked harder to form a government," Lapid said. There must be such a government or Israel will have to hold a fifth election cycle in two years."
"We have a good coalition ready to go and I offered Bennett to be the first in a rotation of prime minsters'. I intend to keep my word," Lapid said.
Lapid spoke after Netanyahu made a public announcement saying he will step aside and allow Bennett to lead a right-wing government for the first year of its tenure.
Bennett in respond alluded to Netanyahu's statement as an irrelevant spin. "I am not seeking the position of prime minister, he said. I want a viable and long-lasting government.
First published: 14:52, 05.03.21