Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday held a live broadcast on his Facebook page, during which he discussed his turning to the heads of the Labor Party to form a government before making the decision to dissolve the Knesset.
He said that he approached MKs Avi Gabbay and Tal Russo, after Avigdor Liberman prevented the establishment of a government.
"The plan was to establish a right-wing government anyway, because I was keeping all the right-wing parties in the coalition," Netanyahu explained.
Netanyahu had reportedly offered Gabbay, then the chairman of the Labor Party, the Finance Ministry and three other portfolios.
Gabbay carefully considered the tempting proposal but ultimately turned it down. He later justified his consideration of the offer, despite a campaign promise not to be a part of Netanyahu’s government, by saying he sought to thwart the passing of laws he sees as anti-democratic.
Gabbay ultimately stepped down as head of Labor and subsequently quit politics altogether.