Eisenkot: political allies are undermining bloc’s chances of victory
“I think they are harming our chances of victory- and that chance exists,” he said. “The public wants change.”
As parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu work to build a united electoral alternative, disagreements over leadership and the makeup of a future government have exposed divisions within the bloc.
Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot warned Thursday that those disputes could undermine what he described as a genuine public desire for political change.
Eisenkot criticized two of his political allies, accusing them of weakening the bloc’s prospects of winning the next election.
“I believe both of them are mistaken in the way they view the bloc,” Eisenkot said in an interview with Kan News. “I worked around the clock to organize it, and today the bloc is better organized than it was in previous elections.”
The Yashar party chairman argued that the opposition has a genuine opportunity to win, provided its leaders put aside internal rivalries.
“I think they are harming our chances of victory—and that chance exists,” he said. “The public wants change.”
Eisenkot also rejected the prospect of party leaders deciding among themselves who should become prime minister after the election, describing such an arrangement as unacceptable political maneuvering.
“The idea that we will enter a room the day after the election, engage in some backroom trickery and decide who will be prime minister is unacceptable,” he said. “We must respect the public’s decision.”
He called on the other contenders to present their experience and qualifications to voters, adding that he would make his own case for leadership.
“Let both of them explain the experience they have and what they bring to the table, and I will speak about the leadership I offer,” Eisenkot said. “The public will decide. I call on them to come to their senses.”
Yisrael Beiteinu responded by defending its chairman, Avigdor Lieberman, and outlining the party’s conditions for joining a future government.
“Avigdor Lieberman has no ego—he has experience, and experience shows that pressure should not be displayed at any stage,” the party said in a statement.
Yisrael Beiteinu said it remained committed to forming what it described as a Zionist government without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Arab parties or ultra-Orthodox parties. It also pledged to advance universal military conscription legislation without quotas, targets or exemptions, and to establish a state commission of inquiry as the incoming government’s first decision.