Netanyahu against history: negotiations for unification of blocs, 5 days until the closing of the lists
Only five days remain until the submission of lists to the Knesset, and the political system is boiling. Ofer Winter refuses reserved spots, takes a jab at Lieberman, and sets an explosive threshold condition for entering the coalition. While Winter is conducting negotiations with Zlitcha, the unity bloc is stalling while waiting for Gilad Erdan, who is abroad. Simultaneously: Bennett and Eisenkot have shelved the idea of a joint list, and Tali Gottlieb is expected to join the leadership of "Otzma Yehudit" despite technical difficulties.
The political hourglass is running out: only five days remain until the deadline for closing the lists for the Knesset, and parties on the right and left are forced to convene to make fateful decisions, most of which will be decided, according to tradition, only at the last minute. While some players are trying to maximize profits, others are fighting for survival, and in the background, everyone is trying to navigate within an extremely tight schedule.
On the right edge of the map, Ofer Winter, who entered the arena with a bang last week, continues to shuffle the cards in the Netanyahu bloc. In a statement he made yesterday (Wednesday), against the backdrop of heavy pressure to unite with Ben Gvir or Smotrich and even the possibility of a reserved spot in the Likud, Winter clarified that he would not join any existing party and publicly rejected the offers he received. On the other hand, he was quick to declare that he would recommend only Netanyahu for Prime Minister, and ruled out sitting with Lieberman or Eisenkot. Winter took a jab at his competitors and claimed that he would not go with those who formed a government with the Islamic Movement or with those who do not distinguish between Yoseph Haddad and Mansour Abbas.
A significant power center in the bloc is held by Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, but it is unclear how much of this will remain after the lists are closed. While Bennett and Eisenkot are conducting separate negotiations with Tropper, the question of Hendel's inclusion in such a union remains open, and he may find himself out of the picture or alternatively remain as part of the unity bloc. Meanwhile, the possibility of a union between Bennett and Eisenkot was re-examined with the goal of creating a "mega-party" that would challenge Netanyahu's demand for the premiership. However, it turned out that such a connection could harm the total number of mandates of the change bloc, and the idea was taken off the table.
While the center parties are stalling, internal shifts are being recorded in the right-wing bloc. The issue of Tali Gottlieb's move to Otzma Yehudit is expected to be resolved in the coming days. In Itamar Ben Gvir's party, they offered Gottlieb a position at the top of the list, and the expectation was that the matter would be finalized as early as yesterday. Although a number of technical difficulties are delaying the closing of the ends at this stage, the prevailing assessment is that Gottlieb will eventually join the list, which is expected to undergo a significant facelift in light of Ben Gvir's strengthening in the polls.
