Yamina chief Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid will share mutual veto power as part of the coalition agreement for the emerging "government for change", Hebrew media reported Monday evening.
Lawmakers who wish to raise an issue for either government or ministerial committee discussion would require the approval of both the sitting prime minister and alternate prime minister. The voting power in the government plenum and in ministerial committees will be equally divided between both the coalition's right- and left-wing flanks, with each prime minister overseeing their flank's ministers.
The coalition agreements will be signed between Prime Minister-Designate Bennett's Yamina party and Alternate Prime Minister-Designate Lapid's Yesh Atid party, and at the same time, between the bloc's six other factions and Yesh Atid.
Each faction of the so-called "bloc for change", which seeks to put an end to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year rule, will be bound by the Yesh Atid-Yamina deal that will be appended to all other agreements.
The agreement further stipulated that other Knesset factions wishing to join the government after it had been sworn in would require the consent of both the incumbent prime minister and alternate prime minister.
Additionally, the factions of the government-in-waiting have agreed to expand the so-called Norwegian Law, allowing ministers to give up their seats in the Knesset for other members of their parties.
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Faction leaders of the 'bloc for change' meet for the first time since striking a coalition deal
(Photo: Raanan Cohen)
The budding government has also released its charter, which is comprised of 30 different clauses. The manifesto's preamble stated that "the unity government that will be formed will focus in its actions on the civic and economic fields, in order to improve the welfare of Israeli citizens from all groups and sectors, and will bring about within a short time from the date of its inauguration the approval of a state budget for the coming years."
The state budget has been a major wedge issue that sparked heated political debates over the past two years, as Prime Minister Netanyahu and his allies blocked several attempts to pass a financial blueprint for the country, and has even lead to the collapse of the most recent government.
The charter further stated that the government would "focus on the many issues affecting all citizens of the country in the fields of security, health and economy.
"The government will work to mend the rifts between the various elements of Israeli society and to strengthen the foundations of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, and lead various programs aimed at getting the State of Israel out of the economic crisis."
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Lapid, Bennett and Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas sign a coalition deal
(Photo: Nawaf al-Nabari)
Lapid had managed to strike deals with the different elements of the so-called "coalition for change" last Wednesday with less than an hour to go before a midnight deadline that would have seen the mandate for forming a government return to President Reuven Rivlin and likely sent Israel into its fifth round of elections since April 2019.
The coalition deal hinged on support from eight parties from across the political spectrum, as each faction's seats are required to reach the support of the 61 lawmakers needed to form a majority government.
Yesh Atid has 17 seats; Benny Gantz's Blue & White has eight seats; Labor, Yamina and Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu each have seven; Gideon Saar's New Hope and Meretz under Nitzan Horowitz have six apiece; and Ra'am has four.
Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin was reportedly mulling to convene the Knesset plenum this coming Wednesday in order to swear in the new government.