Breakthrough in negotiations between the Likud and the Religious Zionist Party announced.
The Likud on Tuesday morning began the process to replace current Knesset speaker Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levi, after the Likud and the Religious Zionist Party (RZP) reported a breakthrough in their ongoing coalition negotiations and RZP subsequently rescinded its refusal to support Levy’s replacement.
The request to replace the speaker needs to have at least 61 signatures, and the Likud began on Tuesday to collect the signatures from the incoming coalition members. However, talks between the Likud and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) stalled this week, and MKs from the party said that it would not support Levy’s replacement unless there is a “significant advancement” in the negotiations.
UTJ’s seven seats means it has de-facto veto power over the proposal to replace Levy, and it is therefore unclear when the proposal will be formally put forwards.
“When the request of 61 Knesset members arrives, I will examine it and convene the Knesset plenum according to the law and the Supreme Court ruling on the matter within a few days, subject to the plenum agenda.”
Mickey Levi
Who will be the new Knesset speaker?
A new Knesset speaker, likely from the Likud, will give the incoming coalition control over the pace of legislation, and enable it to rush through a number of necessary laws before the government is sworn in.
These include a law that will enable Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri to serve as a minister despite his sentence in January to a year suspended jail sentence over tax infractions; changing the law regarding the Israel Police that will award incoming National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir greater authority over it; and others.
The incoming coalition’s party leaders feared that Levy would attempt to delay the plenum’s vote on his replacement for as long as possible, but Levy said on Tuesday that he would not do so.
“I have great respect for the institution I chair, and an orderly transition of power is a supreme democratic value in my view,” Levy said at a conference at Reichman University.
“When the request of 61 Knesset members arrives, I will examine it and convene the Knesset plenum according to the law and the Supreme Court ruling on the matter within a few days, subject to the plenum agenda,” Levy said.
Late-night coalition breakthrough
The Likud and RZP announced in a shared statement at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday that an overnight meeting had brought the sides close to reaching an agreement on most major issues.
According to reports, RZP said that it had “agreed tonight [Monday] to prime minister-designate Netanyahu’s request to appoint a temporary Knesset speaker immediately.”
Negotiations between the two parties will resume later in the day on Tuesday.
Likud sources have indicated that their candidate for the temporary position is MK Yariv Levin, who is second on the Likud list after Netanyahu himself.
Levin is set to receive the position of justice minister once the coalition has been established, meaning that it is unlikely that there will be issues with the election of a permanent Knesset Speaker.
Additionally, according to the Likud sources, Levin has “extensive experience in promoting legislation,” which they say will help with passing the “Deri laws” to ensure that Shas leader Arye Deri can serve in a ministerial position.