Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin announced this morning that the Knesset session for swearing in the new government will be held this Sunday, June 13. Yesterday, Levin delivered to the Knesset the notification by Yesh Atid party leader MK Yair Lapid that he had succeeded in forming a government. The election of the Speaker of the 24th Knesset will also take place on Sunday. Yesh Atid's candidate for the position is Mickey Levy, a member of Knesset for the party. The party's original candidate for Speaker, MK Meir Cohen, has withdrawn.
By law, the coalition agreements will be laid on the Knesset table for public scrutiny by Friday (the law requires this to be done twenty-four hours before the vote, and in this case the Shabbat intervenes). Yesterday, the agreements and the government-in-waiting's policy principles were leaked to the media, but sources in the "change block" of parties that make up the new government said that these were drafts and were not final. On Sunday, the Knesset will hold a vote of confidence in the new government, which has 61 supporters in the 120-seat Knesset.
"Globes" reported yesterday that MK Nir Orbach of prime minister designate Naftali Bennett's Yamina party, who has come under heavy pressure from right wingers to repudiate the coalition agreements, will announce his support and will not vote against the new government. He has been offered the post of settlements minister, but has not yet stated whether he will accept it.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 8, 2021
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