Although the relevant question is whether the bloc will achieve 61, the Likud chairman is running a campaign against his political partners: “Whoever comes and says he wants to strengthen Netanyahu by one or two more mandates for Smotrich, is actually, paradoxically, voting for Lapid”
Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu said during a meeting with ultra-Orthodox journalists in Jerusalem that whoever votes for the party of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gabir is voting for Lapid. In a recording published in Walla by Yaki Adamker, Netanyahu is heard saying: “Whoever comes and says he wants to strengthen Netanyahu by one or two more mandates for Smotrich, he is paradoxically voting for Lapid.”
“Their plan,” Netanyahu said, referring to Lish Atid and Prime Minister Lapid, “is to pass the Likud by one or two mandates. He (Lapid) is climbing and hopes that he will receive mandates from the Likud so that the work of assembly (assembling the government) will be assigned to him and he will already find the polls. What is certain If the work of assembly is not assigned to him – this way is blocked, and therefore – a big Likud is needed.”
Netanyahu continued: “Smotrich and Ben Gvir will in any case be ministers in my government, so one or two more mandates for them – it doesn’t matter, but one or two less mandates for Likud, could decide everything.”
“Therefore, anyone who comes and says he wants to strengthen Netanyahu by giving Smotrich one or two more mandates, is actually paradoxically voting for Lapid. What good will it do if Laban Gabir and Smotrich have one or two more mandates in the opposition? We want them in power.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Netanyahu spoke about complacency among Torah Judaism voters. “There is a problem. A complete mandate of Torah Judaism that sits in the house.” He asked the group of journalists, “What are we doing?”, and added that “it is madness to give the left the power.” Netanyahu said that the bloc under his leadership “is like a step away from victory. They want Karib Kosher in the government, Matan Kahane and Lieberman? What remains in the house – votes for their government. Continues with this government that will destroy the Torah world and the State of Israel. This could decide the elections.”
“We have an internal survey on willingness to vote. Likud is very high, Shas is very high, the left is less, but the lowest is Torah Judaism.” The former prime minister also wondered “what about the Jerusalem faction.” He tried to find out if “they can’t vote to religious Zionism?”.
The chairman of Religious Zionism, MK Bezalel Smotrich, commented on Netanyahu’s campaign against him: “Netanyahu knows very well, and after four election campaigns, the public already knows, that what determines is the leader of the bloc and not the leader of the party. The president assigns the task of forming the government to the candidate he has 61 recommend and it will be Netanyahu. But on the other hand, if we become smaller than Gantz, a left-wing government may be formed with him instead of with us. That’s the truth”.