It was reported today that Knesset opposition leader and Zionist Union chairman Isaac Herzog was enthusiastic about joining the Netanyahu government, even though the prime minister is unwilling to make the government's basic guidelines more flexible. As far as is known, the Zionist Union has been offered seven ministries, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Industry. Criticism within the Zionist Union of the movement towards entering the coalition is rising.
Herzog met today with MK Tzipi Livni, who does not share his enthusiasm for entering the government. It is assumed that if Herzog eventually enters the government, the immediate consequence will be the dissolution of the Zionist Union, which currently includes Livni and her party, Hatnuah. Such an action is liable to cause an internal split in the Labor Party between those supporting participation in the government and those opposed, who include Shelly Yachimovich and Eitan Cabel.
MK Micky Rosenthal (Zionist Union) severely criticized his party's leader, writing in his Twitter account, "Herzog is conducting a fire sale. He is willing to crawl into the Netanyahu government almost unconditionally. Now the ball is in my court. Even if the negotiations fail and the Labor Party does not wind up in the government, the very fact that Herzog is negotiating has already caused damage."
Rosenthal added, "The legitimacy he has given the Netanyahu government has emasculated our ability to criticize it in the future, because who will believe us then? Paradoxically, Herzog has sat on the fence in order to crown Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid as acting chairman of the opposition and an alternative to the government."
Simultaneously with the criticism from within his party, social media commentators have already hurried to remind people of Herzog's past statements. In 2012, when Shaul Mofaz and Kadima joined the Netanyahu government, Herzog stated, "We will lead the opposition in the Knesset to depose the alliance of cowards leading Israel. We will show the public that there is an alternative."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 10, 2016
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