High Electoral Threshold, Not New Candidates, Hurts Right-Wing Parties
A high electoral threshold is the primary obstacle preventing new leadership from entering Israeli politics and is causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of votes within the national camp, according to Yitzhak Zivan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent criticism of Ofer Winter's potential entry into politics and repeated warnings against "party fragments burning votes and causing the right-wing government to fall" are part of a recurring pattern, Zivan argues.
Whenever a new figure emerges offering an ideological alternative, aggressive pressure is applied, demanding they align, unite, or withdraw. However, Zivan contends that blaming candidates like Winter, Yoaz Hendel, or Gilad Erdan for vote loss is misguided. The real culprit, he states, is the high electoral threshold, which was raised to 3.25% in 2014 under the guise of promoting governability and stability.
Instead of achieving these goals, the increased threshold has led to prolonged political paralysis, extortion by parties exceeding the threshold, and a mechanism that shields established parties from ideological competition. This high bar discourages qualified individuals, including officers and public leaders, from entering politics due to the slim chance of crossing the approximately four-seat threshold.
Following the October 7th events, a significant portion of the right-wing public is disillusioned with the current leadership and seeks new blood and an offensive security doctrine. Zivan warns that preventing new forces from entering the political arena through this high barrier forces voters into difficult tactical choices, such as voting for parties they don't believe in, or succumbing to despair and abstaining, potentially leading to record-low voter turnout.
Zivan proposes that instead of fear-mongering campaigns and forced, unsustainable unions, the solution lies in lowering the electoral threshold. He believes this would restore pure ideological voting, prevent the loss of valuable seats for the national camp, inject new leadership into the Knesset, and allow for greater flexibility in forming a functional national government.
