Nearly six months after shocking the political system by forming a unity
government with Kadima, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrown
another curve ball by joining forces with Avigdor Lieberman ahead of the
upcoming elections. In a special press conference held Thursday
evening, the two men announced they were uniting the Likud and the even harder right wing Yisrael
Beiteinu party under one ticket.
Avigdor Lieberman, left, Benjamin Netanyahu, right
Ynet reports:
Dramatic development: Nearly six months after shocking the political system by forming a unity government with Kadima, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrown another curve ball by joining forces with Avigdor Lieberman ahead of the upcoming elections.
In a special press conference held Thursday evening, the two men announced they were uniting the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu under one ticket.
"We shall ask the public for a mandate to lead Israel with force. It will empower the government, it will empower the prime minister and therefore the state. I hope to win the public's trust again and to get a clear mandate from Israeli that will allow me to focus on what is important," Netanyahu said.
"Joining forces will give us the power to defend Israel and generate social and economic change," he added. The two refused to take questions, did not elaborate on the make-up of the new list and did not address the possibility of a rotation.
"We face tremendous challenges and this is the time to join forces for the State of Israel's sake. That is why the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu will run together under one ticket in the next Knesset election.”…
Ha'aretz adds:
The planned unification could have a far-reaching influence on the makeup of Israel's next government, with estimates indicating that Netanyahu will commit to advance the civilian-secular agenda that dominates the Yisrael Beiteinu platform.
As part of the move, Netanyahu could even prefer to include other secular-minded parties, such as Yesh Atid, Kadima, and perhaps even Labor, over the long-running link to the Haredi parties.