Liberman Says He Has No Intention of Becoming Knesset Speaker

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman said on October 31 that he did not want to become Knesset speaker. In a statement on his official account, he said he had received several approaches concerning a demand for the position, then rejected the prospect of taking it himself. “I have no desire and no intention of becoming Knesset speaker,” Liberman wrote. He did not name those who had approached him. His statement addressed his own intentions; it did not announce an appointment, a parliamentary vote or an agreement over who would hold the speakership. In a signed party newsletter published on July 26, Liberman had outlined different priorities for a future government. He said the first government decision his party would advance would establish a state commission of inquiry, while the first legislation would require military service for everyone. These were his stated demands for a future government, rather than decisions reported as having taken effect. The same newsletter said Yisrael Beytenu would seek the public-security portfolio and named Hamad Amar as its intended minister, linking that demand to combating criminal protection rackets. Liberman also described five Economic Affairs Committee discussions he had convened about protection and insurance for threatened businesses, followed by a pilot insurance and economic response.