Five 'change bloc' leaders hold coordinating meeting ahead of elections

Opposition leader Yair Lapid was hosting the leaders of the “change bloc,” former prime minister Naftali Bennett, Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, and The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan, at his Tel Aviv home on Saturday night for talks on coordinating their moves ahead of the elections.

The meeting comes as the bloc’s leaders seek to tighten coordination while grappling with disagreements over election strategy, the identity of the candidate who will lead the camp, and possible paths toward forming a government after the elections. Some of those disagreements have already spilled into the public arena in recent weeks.

Eisenkot and Liberman met at Yashar’s offices on Wednesday, their second meeting in about two weeks.

Eisenkot addressed coordination within the camp on Wednesday morning, telling 103FM, “There are weekly meetings to coordinate between the parties, and there are also substantive disagreements. We have a common goal, and I am certain it will be expressed by the elections and will lead to us defeating this failed government.”

The meeting at Lapid’s home took place against the backdrop of efforts to coordinate among parties that differ in their positions and voter bases. Alongside their shared objective of replacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the camp’s leaders have yet to reach full agreement on who should be their candidate for prime minister or on some of the coalition issues that would arise after the elections.

Relations in the bloc are tense

Relations among the key players have also been tense. Over the past week, Eisenkot and figures in Yisrael Beytenu have exchanged remarks after Liberman’s party criticized the strategy led by the Yashar chairman.

MK Oded Forer, one of Yisrael Beytenu’s senior figures, said last week that Eisenkot was “fueling Bibi’s campaign” and that winning would require drawing votes from other political camps as well.

These disagreements made Saturday night’s gathering more than a technical coordination meeting. The party leaders will have to discuss how to manage their joint campaign alongside their separate campaigns and how to address disagreements over the makeup of a future government and the path by which it could be formed.

According to a Maariv poll published on Friday, the coalition bloc fell by one seat to just 49 as both haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties lost one seat each.

The poll also found that Otzma Yehudit gained one seat, rising to nine, while Likud remained at 18 seats, the Religious Zionist Party-Zehut joint list at six, and People of Israel at four.

Yashar on a downward trend in the polls

In the opposition bloc, Eisenkot’s Yashar continued its downward trend, losing another seat this week to stand at 22.

Elsewhere in the bloc, The Democrats gained two seats to reach 11, while B’Yachad remained at 13 and Yisrael Beytenu at nine. The joint Reservists-Economic Party remained at four seats, while the Arab parties also remained unchanged with a combined 12 seats. Overall, the Zionist opposition bloc gained one seat, rising to 55.

Meanwhile, Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz, received 1.3% of the vote; the Haredi Public party, led by Moti Leitner, received 0.9%; and Noam for Israel, led by Avi Maoz, received 0.7%. None crossed the electoral threshold.

Asked which party they would vote for if Knesset elections were held now, respondents gave Yashar 22 seats, Likud 18, B’Yachad 13, The Democrats 11, Yisrael Beytenu nine, Otzma Yehudit nine, the Joint Arab List seven, United Torah Judaism six, Shas six, Religious Zionist Party-Zehut six, Ra’am five, People of Israel four, and the Reservists-Economic Party four.