Likud Fears Ben-Gvir Could Reach 15 Seats, Aims to Cap Him at 7-8
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
The Likud party fears Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit could win up to 15 seats in the upcoming election, according to internal polls. The party plans a campaign to reduce his support to 7-8 seats and win back voters. Shas is also competing for these voters, using religious leaders. The Likud aims to strengthen the right-wing bloc and ensure its own leadership in forming the next government.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Likud fears Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could win 15 seats, aiming to limit him to 7-8.
- Internal polls show Otzma Yehudit has potential support of 12 to 15 seats.
- Shas is also competing for voters who have shifted to Ben-Gvir.
- Likud is supporting Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party.
- The party is also targeting candidates Ofer Winter and Handel-Zalicha.
- The Likud seeks to maximize the right-wing bloc's strength before elections.
With two weeks until the election, the Likud party is preparing a campaign to counter Itamar Ben-Gvir's growing support, aiming to reduce his potential to 7-8 Knesset seats. This strategy is driven by internal polls suggesting Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party could garner as many as 15 seats. The Likud's effort also seeks to win back voters who have shifted to smaller parties on the right, while simultaneously bolstering potential coalition partners.
This move comes amid a similar struggle by the Shas party, which is also seeing voters, particularly younger and traditional ones, defect to Ben-Gvir. Shas plans to leverage its rabbis to appeal to these voters, focusing on religious and traditional messaging alongside political appeals.
The Likud's concern is that Ben-Gvir's strength could disrupt the right-wing bloc. They are also working to support Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, which is polling close to the electoral threshold, as long as its gains come at Ben-Gvir's expense and keep the votes within the bloc. The recent surplus agreement between Likud and Religious Zionism, excluding Otzma Yehudit, has heightened tensions, with Otzma Yehudit claiming it's an attempt to sideline them from a future government.
Simultaneously, the Likud is targeting other parties, including those led by Ofer Winter and Handel-Zalicha, believing they are drawing about three seats away from the right-wing bloc. A paid campaign against Winter has already been launched on social media. The Likud's overarching goal is to maximize the right-wing bloc's strength and ensure the Likud leads the government formation talks after the election.
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