Former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s rising poll numbers may not reflect “natural” support, but rather may be coming from opposition parties, and threaten the liberal bloc’s ability to form a government, Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy warned on Tuesday in an interview with 103FM.
Levy argued that a significant share of Bennett’s projected mandates in recent surveys appears to have shifted from Yesh Atid, while also raising doubts about whether Bennett would remain aligned with the liberal camp if his political strength grows, or if he would form a government with the Likud.
“Bennett’s mandates are not natural, these are Yesh Atid mandates that moved there,” Levy said. He added that a “too-strong Bennett” could choose to cooperate with Likud, pointing to Bennett’s background and worldview as factors he said should be considered when evaluating coalition scenarios.
Levy said he has worked with Bennett and described him as “a wonderful person,” adding that he once invited him to his home. At the same time, he said Bennett’s historical electoral base had typically hovered around "seven to nine" seats,” while arguing that Yesh Atid has demonstrated broader governing capacity.
Referring to the Bennett-Lapid “change government,” Levy said it fell “only because there were Knesset members in Bennett’s party who chose a different path,” while maintaining that the coalition’s very formation showed it is possible to connect rival political camps.
“Yes, it is possible to form a government even with a diversity of opinions,” Levy said, adding that the liberal bloc must function “as one body” to “heal this country.”
Internal competition is sabotaging opposition parties' chances of forming government
Levy said internal competition within the liberal camp could undermine its prospects, citing what he described as in-depth polling that shows the bloc could lose. “We see in the in-depth surveys that it’s very possible the liberal bloc could, God forbid, lose, there will be no horizon for this country,” he said.
He acknowledged that Yesh Atid has slipped in some polls, but criticized what he described as a fight over mandates within the bloc rather than a concerted effort to draw support from the coalition. Levy said only a centrist party can connect the political extremes, arguing that Yesh Atid, led by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, is best positioned to build a coalition.
“Lapid stitched together the change government,” Levy said, asserting that the year it served was positive on security and economic grounds. Despite current polling, he said he believes Yesh Atid voters will return and that the opposition can still form “a government with a new horizon for the State of Israel.”