Aryeh Deri, leader of the Shas (religious Sephardic) party and Minister of the Interior, vowed that he will not join a government led by Blue and White, even at the expense of going to the polls for a fourth round of elections. "Blue and White could fall apart tomorrow," Deri remarked. "The only thing that holds their coalition together is hatred for Netanyahu. "it's not a matter of no one else wanting us," Deri continued,"but a decision I made since we are natural allies of Netanyahu and our voters desire a Jewish state that maintains the status quo. Followers of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength far right party) should vote for Netanyahu's right wing bloc since their party will not pass the threshold of votes needed for Knesset seats. If Otzma Yehudit followers voted for our bloc, we would receive the sixty-one mandates needed for a Knesset majority."