Blue and white chairman Bnei Gantz is expected to create a first connection agreement in the political arena for the 25th Knesset election campaign together with Gideon Saar’s new Tikva faction. With former chief of staff Eisenkot also on the agenda may push the next in line on the blue and white list for third place. That means Gantz will be at the top of the joint list, Saar will be in second place and so on. Sources in blue and white said it was Gantz’s decision not to run in the current party line-up and that he sees value in further connections.
According to estimates, Ganz seeks to increase its value so that a situation does not arise in which Lapid and Netanyahu compete with each other as the two major parties, and he is left behind. His first goal right now is to increase blue and white as an equal competitor to having a future for prime minister. The connection with Saar’s state right may help him in another aspect: the work that Gantz will save Saar from the horror of the blocking percentage will hurt Netanyahu’s chances of gaining 61 seats and therefore any government that is formed will be required to complete fingers on the part of Gantz’s new hope. The blue-and-white chairman wants to remain the Libra party that will decide the formation of the next government, and only then may he once again be required to ask whether to split from Saar, which vetoed the possibility of sitting down with Netanyahu on various occasions.
Those left out of the union are Communications Minister Yoaz Handel who is not expected to join the new list. As we published in Globes between Saar and Handel, there has been an ongoing dispute over the past year over the media reform for the ultra-Orthodox sector that Handel led, contrary to Saar’s opinion. Handel said that he is facing connections on the right, but now the option left on the table is to join Ayelet Shaked and the right. Talks took place between the two last week but no decision has yet been made. Another swinging candidate is Matan Kahana who has to decide whether to continue with Shaked or probably stay off the emerging lists.