The coalition negotiations are stuck: Benjamin Netanyahu wanted very much to inaugurate a new government already today with the inauguration of the Knesset, but his future coalition partners are not making life easy for him. The negotiations with religious Zionism are completely deadlocked and according to reports Netanyahu and Smotrich have not spoken since last Wednesday. Today, Yaffe Deri revealed that her husband, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, is aiming for the treasury case.
The dispute between Netanyahu and Smotrich
The background to the dispute is around the cases they will receive in the religious Zionist party. Smotrich does not hide his desire to receive one of the senior portfolios, treasury or security, when apparently Netanyahu is not at all interested in giving him one of these positions. The one who reluctantly enters the picture is Aryeh Deri through whom Netanyahu is trying to dissuade Smotrich from his demands.
Deri, promised the underdogs Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
“He has a promise for the underprivileged public”
After it seemed that Deri had already agreed on his appointment as Minister of Finance, Smotrich insisted on receiving the security portfolio. Since no solution is found to the political floundering, Deri’s name has been bandied about again, this time as the designated defense minister. But today (Tuesday) live on Network B, Deri’s wife revealed that he is not at all considering accepting the security portfolio and that he is headed to the Ministry of Finance. “He will not go to security. He has a promise to the underprivileged public and in his view he gave consent for the Ministry of Finance,” said Deri when asked by the interviewers about the possibility of him going to the Ministry of Defense.