Balad has lost its way, suddenly Bibi can think about 63 seats

September 16, 2022   

The agreement in the joint list collapsed last night (Friday night) just before the deadline for submitting lists, when Balad set new demands and at the last minute decided to run separately. Hadash-Ta'al also submitted their own list, alongside Mansour Abbas's Ra'am, which ran with an independent list. At least one of these lists will not pass the threshold - in which case the 'Netanyahu bloc' is expected to gain seats. Haaretz commentator Yossi Werter wrote this morning that "Balad decided to lose itself, and possibly also drag with it the hopes of the Arab electorate, which aspired to unity of ranks - and largely hoped for the participation of its representatives in the next coalition. Instead, it received quarrels and a destructive split. "The hopes of the Change Bloc to prevent the right-wing-ultra-Orthodox bloc from winning 61 seats have suffered a fatal blow. Everything that happened until last night at 11:00 PM is dwarfed by the common disintegration. If the Netanyahu bloc stood at 59-60 seats until last night, it may jump to 62-63 from today." Werter wrote about the right-wing camp: "On the other hand, no party needs to fear for its fate. The most skilled political lacemaker in the arena stormed the cracks and sealed them with a masterful hand. Like a shepherd, he gathered the stray sheep into the fold, locked it and put the key in a wallet that he does not have." On Yair Lapid, on the other hand, he wrote that he failed in his efforts to unite Labor and Meretz: "It is not his fault. He did everything humanly possible - but against a stubborn, hostile and defiant client like Merav Michaeli, he did not stand a chance." "Eli Avidar submitted a list. The thousands of votes he will receive if he persists in the race are netting the RLB bloc, netting a possible attack in the camp. Avidar suffers from egomania. Unlike Hadar Mukhtar, his friend in the Zero Point Club, whose blatant and hollow bluff is peeling off one layer after another, Avidar has done something in life. It is not clear why he is choosing to end his short political career in disgrace." According to him, "Netanyahu has one main headache left, not a critical one: Ayelet Shaked. The current polls place her safely below the threshold. But after she 'came to her senses,' apologized, and returned home battered ('post-trauma,' I would correctly diagnose Naftali Bennett, who will not vote for her), the votes that will reach her are votes that are subtracted from the Netanyahu bloc. "Right now, it's about one and a half to two mandates on an ideal day. She promises in closed talks 'not to waste votes.' If the miracle of the oil jug doesn't happen in the coming month, she will announce her resignation. The Likud is waiting for her to do it herself, before they run a campaign of terror against her. "Either way, from the moment she stopped playing games and double-talking and stood on the right side, she came directly into Netanyahu's crosshairs. The Netanyahu family, right? They have no interest in helping her. The First Lady from Caesarea has been tormented for a whole decade, seeing her nemesis in the Knesset, in governments, in the cabinet, in senior positions, sometimes physically at her husband's side. This is the time for her to deliver the death blow.".