Lapid Considers New Candidate Amid Party Exodus

Opposition leader Yair Lapid is reportedly considering placing Neta Attias, the operations manager for his Yesh Atid party, within the second tier of the party's electoral list. This move comes amid a wave of departures from the party, with several veteran and newer Knesset members announcing they will not seek re-election in the upcoming elections.

Notable figures who have left or announced they are not running include Yoav Segalovitz, who joined Ra'am; Elazar Stern, who moved to Gadi Eisenkot's party; Meir Cohen, who will not run but was appointed chairman of the Yesh Atid conference; Mickey Levy, who announced his retirement from politics; and Debi Biton, Tatyana Mazarzky, Ron Katz, Idan Roll, and Boaz Toporovsky, who also announced departures or non-candidacy.

Lapid has recently dedicated numerous social media posts to bid farewell to departing members. Following Mickey Levy's announcement, Lapid tweeted that "the list must be led by the next generation of the party." Another potential addition to the list is retired Major General Noam Tibon.

Meanwhile, discussions continue within the "Change Bloc" regarding a potential merger between Gadi Eisenkot's party and the "Achva" party, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. While still considered unlikely, the bloc is analyzing survey data daily to assess the potential impact of such a union on vote counts. Proponents believe a combined list of 37 mandates could prevent Avigdor Lieberman from demanding the premiership with only ten mandates.

However, concerns remain about a repeat of the previous alliance between Lapid and Bennett, which reportedly led to a decline in their poll numbers. There is a fear that Lapid's or other figures' presence on the list could alienate voters for Eisenkot. Currently, the likelihood of this merger proceeding is low, but the possibility is under ongoing review.