Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, on Wednesday night announced his plan to solve Israel’s political deadlock.
In a statement on Facebook, Avigdor Lieberman proposed a four step process to form a national unity which he maintains enacts the “will of the people”, following September’s inconclusive election.
At the heart of this plan is a coalition between Yisrael Beitenu, the Likud party and Blue and White, with the condition that Netanyahu would have to back out of an agreement with the religious right-wing bloc.
The first stage of Liberman’s plan involves negotiations on security, the economy, society and religion and state between the three parties to agree shared principles as the basis of a national unity government.
Should basic principles be established, the second step would see President Reuven Rivlin’s premiership rotation proposal adopted. In practice, this means that Benjamin Netanyahu would serve as Prime Minister for the first two years, followed by Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White, for the next two years. Crucially however, Benny Gantz could take over the role early due to an indefinite “incapacitation” clause that would be triggered if Netanyahu were to be indicted on corruption charges.
The third step in Lieberman’s plans focuses on the national unity government immediately passing a 2020 budget alongside a ten-year plan for the Israeli Defense Force, and the fourth step involves allowing other parties to join the governing coalition based on the pre-agreed basic principles and 2020 budget.
In response, Blue and White welcomed the proposal claiming to view Yisrael Beitenu as a future coalition partner. Likud, however, expressed scepticism at Lieberman’s proposal issuing a statement saying the “plan doesn’t offer anything new”.
