MK Amichai Chikli has announced that for technical reasons, he is obligated to remain a member of the Yamina party, after his request to separate from the party was turned down by the party leadership.
“Technically, there is no other option,” Chiklin told Radio Kol Chai on Sunday. “I applied to the party’s leadership to officially part ways, but my request was turned down, and so, for the time being, I am still a member of Yamina. That means that technically, I am still subject to party discipline,” he added.
“What is, in my eyes, more significant,” Chikli added, “is what the Yamina party is actually all about. Is it the party Bennett said it was before the elections, or what he is doing in practice afterward? From my perspective, Yamina is what we promised before the elections. What I am doing now is attempting to remain faithful to my truth and to the version of Yamina that was presented to the public before the elections.”
Chikli also expressed his criticism of the current government, saying, “The strength of the current government is also its weakness. Since the political standing of so many members of the government is so fragile, they have an overriding interest in sticking to their guns and presenting themselves as having made significant achievements, in order to increase their political clout at the next round of elections. That’s why, despite all the ideological contradictions between the various government members, the coalition is actually managing to survive.”
Chikli was asked if he has spoken privately with Prime Minister Bennett since the elections, and replied that, “I have spoken just once with Bennett since he was appointed prime minister, while we were discussing the Nationality Law. I tried to appeal to his inner sense of right and wrong and get him to realize that it was ridiculous to be prime minister with just six seats behind him. In my opinion, this government is ten times worse than holding a fifth round of elections,” he added.