New government's first bill would bring Diaspora advocates to Knesset, set to pass Wednesday
By GIL HOFFMANYesh Atid leader Yair Lapid participates in a discussion on the government formation bill, April 2020.(photo credit: KNESSET SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who is set to formally become opposition leader as early as Monday, vowed to bring together the very different parties in the opposition to fight the new government.Responding to a question from The Jerusalem Post at a meeting of the Yesh Atid-Telem faction in the Knesset, Lapid said he was ready for the challenge.“The opposition is complex,” Lapid said. “It includes those who would make a better government than the current one. But I admit that it will not always be easy to work together: The Joint List, Meretz, Yisrael Beytenu, Yamina. It will be my job to mediate between all these parts in order to ensure that there will be someone who represents Israel, not just those who sought political patronage positions.”Lapid said he looked forward to restoring his political partnership with Yamina head Naftali Bennett. They formed what they called a brotherly bond when they were freshman lawmakers and ministers in 2013, but from 2015 until Sunday, Lapid was in the opposition while Bennett was in or supported the government.“Bennett is my friend, regardless of his political positions,” Lapid said. “We worked well in the coalition together and I see no reason why we cannot serve well in the opposition together.”Lapid expressed outrage that the first bill that the coalition intends to pass in the Knesset is the so-called Norwegian Law, which would allow up to five ministers from each party to quit the Knesset and be replaced by the next candidates on the party list.“The Norwegian Law means more political patronage positions, dozens more for the most bloated and wasteful coalition in the history of Israel,” he said.Sources in Blue and White responded that Lapid backed the Norwegian Law many times in the past, saying that it was needed to strengthen the Knesset.The new head of the Knesset House Committee, Blue and White MK Eitan Ginzburg, said on Monday that the bill would be brought to a preliminary reading in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.The goal of Blue and White is to pass it into law by the beginning of June, in order to give the party more MKs to work in the Knesset. Out of the 15 Blue and White MKs, 12 are ministers and three are chairmen of key Knesset committees.
