Former minister and ambassador, MK Danny Danon has not given up on receiving the position of Knesset Speaker in the next term. He reads the headlines which promote the candidacies of Yariv Levin and Dudi Amsalem for the job, but he still believes that his Likud party will give it to him.

When asked if, at this point, he knows what is in store for his personal future, he answers: "The country's future is more important than my own. We are happy that we will soon form a national and Zionist government and switch out this dangerous government. We are beginning to see the buds of the change of government."

Regarding this statement, we asked if there are really buds of the change of government or just issues that are becoming more exhausting and complex the closer the distribution of jobs gets closer to Likud members. "As far as the schedule we will meet," Danon says and points out that tomorrow a new Speaker will be chosen for the Knesset on behalf of the new coalition, and "By Chanukah, there will be new ministers in the Israeli government and Prime Minister Netanyahu will take office."

Danon refuses to see the current upheaval in the Likud as an uprising by his fellow party members against the Prime Minister. In fact, he thinks that this is an expression of the democratization of his movement. "We are a democratically run party. It is legitimate that there will be aspirations, talk, and discussions. This isn't a party of one man like Lapid and Leiberman, and that's good. Right now the delays have to do more with the lawmaking needed to form the government, and should take a week or a week and a half."

We also asked Danon if his decision to concentrate his efforts on the aspiration to be the Speaker of the Knesset is not a mistake, since the discussions concentrate on Amsalem or Levin and it seems that he's being left out. "I have a very straightforward style. This is the position that I'm aiming for and I think that I'm appropriate for the position. I have the required talents and experience in the Knesset and overseas diplomacy, but we are a democracy. We will face it and accept the results. I hope to receive the Prime Minister's and the party member's trust tomorrow afternoon."

Regarding the chance that his fellow party members will prefer him over Netanyahu's candidate, Danon stated: "The one who actually chooses the Likud's candidate is the party. Netanyahu's position matters, but formally the ones who choose are the party members. It isn't like ministers who are appointed by the Prime Minister and receive Knesset approval.

In preparation for tomorrow's vote, Danon says "I speak to friends. There's a lot of talking and a lot of candidates. A few weeks ago, I was the only candidate and today there are at least five. It is legitimate to have competition in a democratically run party."

Regarding what will happen if he isn't elected, Danon declined to say if he will ask to be appointed as a minister. "I'm concentrating on this candidacy and hope to succeed, therefore, I don't discuss such and such jobs in the government."

In addition, we asked Danon what he thinks about the criticism of the splitting of ministries between different ministers. "These are the constraints of forming a government," he explains but adds that if the relationships between the ministers will be good and professional, things will go smoothly. "We don't want arguments, we want good work for the people in Israel. That's why the people voted for us. We need to understand that we need to work together. They look at us from the outside and we are committed to bringing the public the reforms that we promised them."