Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz is considering remaining Knesset speaker until the swearing-in of the new government over concerns his coalition deal with Likud could collapse, the Haaretz daily reports.
Under the coalition agreement inked between Likud and Blue and White, Gantz is supposed to resign as Knesset speaker 48 hours before the swearing-in of the government, which is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m.
According to Haaretz, Gantz is also weighing holding off on resigning the speakership over concerns the swearing-in of the government could be delayed and because it can be used as leverage with Prime Minister Netanyahu, as the speaker has control over the Knesset plenum’s agenda.
The resignation of a speaker doesn’t come into effect until 48 hours after it is submitted and under the Knesset’s Rules of Procedure, the speaker can’t be a minister.
To get around this, Blue and White is looking into adopting a legal stance that Gantz’s tenure as speaker will automatically end when he is sworn in as defense minister in the new government, the newspaper says.
Benny Gantz delivers his maiden speech as Knesset speaker, March 26, 2020. (Knesset)
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