Former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot’s (Yashar!) proposal to create a united electoral list with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top rivals could reshape the direction of the elections.
Eisenkot has proposed creating a unified list for the upcoming elections with former prime minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid).
Both Lapid and Bennett have yet to respond to the proposal. It aims to gain enough seats in the elections to beat Netanyahu’s Likud Party.
Since launching Yashar! in September, speculation has swirled about Eisenkot’s intentions in creating the new party.
Many reports called his move strategic, allowing him to be a key piece for merging deals among the opposition parties ahead of the elections.
Now, it seems increasingly likely that this was Eisenkot’s plan all along. Recent polls show Yashar! hovering around nine seats, slightly behind Lapid’s party, while Bennett’s bloc comes in at approximately 22 seats, trailing Likud.
While the three parties differ across the political spectrum, they share one key factor in common: strong opposition to having Netanyahu in power.
Further, these two parties surrounding Eisenkot reflect the different voting sectors of Israel’s public, with Lapid’s party leaning toward left-wing voters and Bennett’s party geared toward the Right.
This creates an anti-Netanyahu bloc that covers all grounds.
Eisenkot's tactic not without risk
Yet, Eisenkot’s proposed tactic is also not without risk and may result in a loss of seats that could have been gained running separately.
An example of merging parties that proved to be unsuccessful was during the 2014 elections, when a joint list was created between Likud and Yisrael Beytenu.
It was believed that the two parties would end up receiving more seats by running on a joint list, rather than on two separate lists.
However, this plan fell flat when the combined list, known as Likud Beytenu, won 31 Knesset seats during that round of elections.
This was opposed to the overall 42 seats the two parties held when they ran in the 2009 elections separately.
While Eisenkot, Lapid, and Bennett’s shared opposition to Netanyahu could unite both parties and voters, it is uncertain if this tactic will ultimately be enough to unseat him.