Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will likely be leaving political life – if only temporarily – the prime minister hinted.
In an interview published by Ha’aretz Friday morning, the outgoing premier implied that he will be taking a break from politics after stepping down as prime minister, while adding that he intends to return at some later date.
“I plan to try to make a comeback,” Bennett said, while defending not only his performance as prime minister, but also coalition members and even erstwhile allies, including MKs Idit Silman and Nir Orbach.
“I think I was a good prime minister. Yitzhak Rabin was, during his first time, a failed prime minister because of bad political behavior. And even Netanyahu, when they came back in 1996, they learned their lessons.”
Bennett acknowledged his own shortcomings as prime minister, saying he failed to defend his allies.
“I failed,” Bennett said. “I wasn’t wise enough to defend my friends from Netanyahu’s venom machine. No other MK from any other party could have stood up to what they went through. I have no complaints against anyone – not against Idit, not against Nir. The responsibility is mine, the failure is mine.”
“When I entered office I dove deep into the work: The Iran issue, which had been neglected; Gaza; COVID – all the while, I forgot about them,” Bennett continued, referring to his fellow Yamina MKs.
Bennett went on to laud Foreign Minister Yair Lapid – now poised to succeed Bennett as premier, and vowed to back him to the hilt.
“I intend to help him with everything; Yair was a true partner, starting from when he let me serve first as prime minister, and the whole time after. He played no tricks. He never tried to behave like an Alternate Prime Minister. There was just one prime minister.”
Kan Newsreported Thursday evening that Bennett will not make any formal announcement regarding his political future before the dissolution of the Knesset is finalized next week.
According to the report, Bennett told his associates: "I will decide on my political future only after the dissolution of the Knesset."
At the same time, Bennett is reportedly facing growing tensions with longtime ally Ayelet Shaked, who is concerned with her own political future after the current government last just a year before collapsing and was visiting Morocco when the announcement of its dissolution was made.
Bennett tried to explain to Shaked why he could not wait with the announcement of the dissolution of the Knesset until she returned from her visit to Morocco and told her: "Orbach told me to vote for the dissolution of the Knesset this week, I could not wait."
Shaked did not accept the explanation and remained displeased with the timing of the announcement.
