New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar and his wife, anchorwoman Geula Even, climbed up the steps on their way out of the Knesset exactly when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started convening the Likud faction.
Sa’ar was told as he reached the top step that he could go to the right and help Netanyahu form a government. Instead, he went quickly to the left to leave the building.
That move was yet another sign that the political crisis that has been cooking for two and a half years is still far from finished.
During what was supposed to be a festive day at the Knesset, the crisis appeared to boil over.
President Reuven Rivlin has never been good at hiding his emotions. He cried during his final speech to the Knesset out of sadness, as he has when delivering other addresses in the past.
But throughout the day, the emotions Rivlin could not hide were anger, resentment and disgust. Rivlin looked like he was taking bitter medicine when he announced that he was formally giving the mandate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government.
Every other time he gave a mandate over the past two years, Rivlin presented it in person. This time, he sent an aide to the Prime Minister’s Office to deliver the piece of paper.
Just in case the message was missed that he could not stand being in the same room with Netanyahu, Rivlin boycotted both a meeting with the heads of the branches of government and a ceremonial picture with the heads of the Knesset factions.
Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin’s emotions also boiled over. He told confidants he was shocked and disturbed by Rivlin’s behavior, which he said would mar his legacy.
Likud ministers said at their closed-door faction meeting that Rivlin had crossed a line, going back to the politician he used to be before assuming his statesmanlike mantle.
Even though Rivlin’s term is set to end in three months, his work is not done. He told MKs in presidential consultations on Monday that he may give up his right to present a second mandate to form a government if the first mandate fails and instead let the Knesset handle it.
But that is not an option. If – as expected – Netanyahu fails to form a government, Rivlin will have to give a second mandate, because when the mandate comes from the Knesset, a minority government is not allowed by law.
When the only possible coalition is a minority government, the president will have to stay involved in the impasse.
Rivlin is not the only one who will have to hold his nose to end the crisis.
It will not end without ideological foes sitting together, whether they are Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and Meretz MK Yair Golan, or Religious Zionist Party MK Itamar Ben-Gvir and Ra’am (United Arab List) head Mansour Abbas.
But the least likely end to the crisis is the one Netanyahu called for in the faction meeting: Sa’ar rejoining him to form a right-wing government.
Sa’ar has stepped away from Netanyahu permanently, and he is never coming back.