New Right chief Ayelet Shaked
New Right chief Ayelet ShakedREUTERS

The New Right chief Ayelet Shaked met with her counterpart in the United Right, Education Minister Rafi Peretz, on Tuesday, formally launching negotiations towards the establishment of a joint ticket for the next election.

According to a report by Kan citing officials in the United Right, the talks are focusing heavily on the question of how to allocate ministries should the joint right-wing party join the next government.

One key point of contention, the United Right officials claim, is the New Right’s demand that in addition to Shaked leading the joint list and taking a ministry in the next government, former Education Minister Naftali Bennett must be guaranteed a ministry if the party joints the next coalition.

The United Right has rejected the demand, particularly if it would cost either Education Minister Rafi Peretz or Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich ministerial positions in the next government.

The New Right, however, has denied the claim, saying that it the party is currently focusing on the allocation of places on the Knesset slate, not ministries. The New Right has called for equal distribution of places on the slate, with half going to the New Right, and half to the United Right.

Smotrich (United Right) had offered the New Right one-third of the slots on the Knesset list, with the Jewish Home and National Union (both factions of the United Right) each taking a third of the seats as well – an offer the New Right rejected although it did not get enough votes to enter the Knesset in the recent elections whle the Jewish Home-National Union list received five seats..