Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman talked about his opinions on the new government in an interview on “Meet the Press.”
“I have no personal issue issue with Netanyahu,” Lieberman said. “We will only interfere if they change the basic principles of the government, including the Jewish State law, equal service for all sectors, death penalty for terrorists, and construction in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem and in the settled blocs.
“We agree that the voters wanted a national government, a right-wing government, but what we have is a government of opportunists with a single agenda – political survival. Whoever gives up the Jewish State bill because of pressure from an anti-Zionist party is not on the right.
“How can Netanyahu demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish State? How can he demand that the Arab states recognize us if he himself gives up the Jewish State bill, which MKs Elkin, Levin, and Shaked signed? Whoever agreed to remove the insistence on equal national service is not on the right. Whoever gave up on imposing the death penalty on terrorists is not on the right.”
Recently, he has claimed that Netanyahu is keeping the Foreign Ministry for himself because he believes that Lieberman will join the new government. “It’s a serious error not to appoint a Foreign Minister,” says Lieberman. “It’s in precisely these circumstances that there must be a full-time Foreign Minister.” According to him, he will agree to join the coalition and take up the role only if the government agrees to his demands to change its newly-declared principles.
On the manner in hich the Prime Minister built the coalition, Lieberman says, “That isn’t a method, that’s Netanyahu’s sin of arrogance. I think that if someone rejects and patronizes his friends for years – he can’t expect them to return to him in his need. You need to ask Gideon Sa’ar or Gilad Arden how they feel. Arden, who ran from studio to studio, on the radio, on the TV, now finds himself outside of the government. That says a lot.”
ליברמן מאותת?
שר החוץ לשעבר אביגדור ליברמן התייחס לשאלה האם יש סיכוי שעוד יחזור בו וישוב לתיק החוץ שנמצא בהמתנה
על האופן שבו ראש הממשלה ניהל את הרכבת הקואליציה אומר ליברמן כי לדעתו “זו לא השיטה, זה חטא היוהרה של נתניהו. אני חושב שמי שמזלזל ומתנשא בחבריו במשך שנים – לא יכול לצפות שהם לא יחזירו לו ביום שהוא צריך אותם. צריך לשאול את גדעון סער או גלעד ארדן מה הם מרגישים. ארדן, שהתרוצץ מאולפן לאולפן, ברדיו, בטלוויזיה, מוצא את עצמו מחוץ לממשלה. זה אומר הרבה מאוד”.
