Likud Party Navigates Funding Rules to Preserve Funds for New Faction

The Likud party has devised a strategy to ensure the "New Hope" faction continues to receive state funding, even after its effective merger with Likud. This maneuver allows Gideon Saar, a prominent figure from New Hope who joined Likud, to maintain his eligibility for future leadership bids within Likud without being tied to the separate faction's registration.

Under the arrangement, Saar is registered as a candidate representing Likud, while Talik Guili, who was placed on the Likud list by Prime Minister Netanyahu, is registered under the New Hope banner. This technicality enables New Hope to continue receiving approximately 1.2 million shekels annually in ongoing funding, plus an advance of about 6 million shekels due to its incumbent Knesset members.

Saar's decision to register with Likud, rather than New Hope, is intended to avoid potential future limitations on his ambition to lead Likud after Benjamin Netanyahu. Registering with a separate faction could require approval from a future Likud leader. Guili's registration, though she was not previously part of New Hope, serves to maintain the faction's separate financial status.

This tactic by Likud follows similar maneuvers by other parties, including Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit, which have also exploited loopholes in party funding laws by registering additional, separate factions. These actions could potentially secure millions of additional shekels in state funding for those parties as well. Registering separate parties within a joint list is not unprecedented in Israeli politics.