Prime Minister Naftali Bennett privately delivered comments predicting that his government would not last long enough for Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to become prime minister, according to reports published Thursday by Hebrew-language media.
“I estimate that the rotation will not happen,” Bennett was quoted by Israel’s Channel 12.
“There is a considerable chance that the government will dissolve between the budget and the time of the change of power, for various reasons.”
He reportedly made the remarks at a closed meeting.
When asked about the report, Bennett’s office confirmed that the prime minister made the remarks but insists that the premier will honor the previously agreed upon power-sharing deal nonetheless.
“The partnership with Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is based on mutual trust and fairness,” the Prime Minister’s Office detailed, according to Channel 12.
“Ahead of the passage of the budget, which guarantees the stability of the government, there are predictable reports of various quotes from various times that were only said as estimations. The budget will pass and the partnership will continue.”
Lapid has been serving as Israel’s alternate prime minister since Bennett’s coalition government unseated former longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu in June.
He is supposed to take over Bennett’s role as prime minister in August 2023 as part of a power-sharing deal the two politicians struck to form their government.