An opinion piece argues that Benjamin Netanyahu may not need to win the election outright, he only needs Benny Gantz. The author says that over the years Gantz has repeatedly served as Netanyahu’s political rescue mechanism, allowing him to survive deadlock through new labels such as responsibility, national unity, or emergency government.
The column says Netanyahu understands his position better than his supporters or opponents do. After October 7, the war, the ultra-Orthodox draft exemption debate, and the deep social divide, the writer says Netanyahu no longer has a natural path to 61 seats. His goal, therefore, is not only to reach a majority himself, but also to keep the other side from getting there.
That is where a new idea, a party of the “unidentified,” comes in. The author describes it as a supposedly centrist, nonaligned list that would present itself as patriotic, responsible, and unifying, but in practice would likely draw voters from the right. The danger, the piece argues, is not that such a party becomes large, but that it wins exactly four, five, or six seats, enough to deny either bloc a majority and turn itself into the decisive swing factor.
If that happens, the column predicts another political stalemate. Commentators, the president, and experts would again speak about responsibility and unity, and Gantz would once more step in to justify a rescue government. The author goes further and suggests that such a scenario could even lead to a unity coalition with rotation, half a term for Netanyahu and half for Gantz, and possibly future support for Netanyahu’s candidacy for president. The piece concludes that the “unidentified” list would be, above all, a lifeboat for Netanyahu.
