Yesh Atid lawmaker Elazar Stern on Monday expressed a desire to join a unity government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media reported.
“I would be delighted if Netanyahu puts forward such an offer,” Stern said in an interview with Army Radio. “If he does, we will have a discussion.
“I was never against the possibility of [joining] an extremist-free unity government,” added the former intelligence minister.
The comments come just days after Stern’s party and opposition leader Yair Lapid said that joining a unity government with Netanyahu’s Likud would “ruin the country.”
Lapid, whom Netanyahu succeeded as premier following the Nov. 1 elections, has denounced the current government as “trembling rulers” who are “corrupt,” and vowed he and his supporters would “fight in the streets, we’ll fight until we win.”
He has also warned of civil war over the government’s judicial reform initiative, and froze negotiations being conducted under the auspices of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, demanding that the accompanying legislative process be halted for 18 months as a precondition to renewed talks.
“We’re done being upset by the outcome of the election…. If you think what I’ve been saying the last few days is rebellious, I have news for you; You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he has said.
In response, Netanyahu slammed Lapid for “attempting to incite rebellion among army officers and mayors against the elected government under our leadership.”
Stern did not clarify on Monday whether his views are shared by other members of Yesh Atid.