Netanyahu's Mistake: Campaign Against Winter May Cost Ruling Right
Translated & summarized from Kipa by baba
The Netanyahu bloc's campaign against Ofer Winter's new party, "Am Israel," is criticized as a major failure with days left before the election. The strategy to portray Winter as a vote-splitter is questioned with historical data, and the author suggests a partnership could have been more beneficial. A harsh campaign against Winter's candidates, including personal attacks, backfired by exposing the negative aspects of "old politics" that Winter's movement aimed to change, thereby reinforcing public desire for political renewal.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Netanyahu's bloc is criticized for a divisive campaign and mishandling Ofer Winter's "Am Israel" party.
- The bloc's strategy to paint Winter as a vote-splitter is questioned with historical election data.
- A harsh campaign against Winter's candidates allegedly backfired, exposing negative political tactics.
- Winter's "new politics" platform contrasted sharply with the "old, ugly politics" he encountered.
- The adversarial approach may have reinforced public desire for political change, the article argues.
With election day approaching, the bloc supporting Netanyahu is criticized for a scattered campaign and a significant failure in handling Ofer Winter's new party, "Am Israel." This failure stems from two main issues: practical and ideological.
Practically, the Netanyahu bloc's strategy was to portray Winter as a vote-splitter for the right, citing historical examples like the "Tehiya" party in 1992 and the "New Right" party led by Bennett and Shaked. However, the article argues that "Tehiya" was only 7,296 votes short of passing the electoral threshold, and the "New Right" needed just 1,454 votes. The author suggests that if Netanyahu had embraced Winter and offered him a political mandate instead of opposing him out of fear he might align with Liberman, Winter's party would have had a better chance of passing the threshold, potentially bringing Netanyahu at least four additional seats in return for one.
Ideologically, Winter's campaign, "Am Israel," positioned itself as a "new politics" movement, appealing to a desire for change following the October 7th events. Winter refused to unite with past politicians, instead presenting his own slate of impressive candidates. In contrast, the ruling coalition launched a harsh campaign against Winter and his party, allegedly to prevent him from drawing votes away from the right and potentially helping Izankot win. This campaign reportedly involved digging up past statements from candidates like Yosef Haddad, who was previously considered for a reserved spot in the Likud, and displaying signs at the home of Didi Ben Zion, leading to his withdrawal from the party. Particularly venomous messages were allegedly sent to the bereaved mother Lili Derai.
However, the article contends this aggressive campaign backfired, exposing the very reasons Winter joined politics: the ugly side of public representatives who stop at nothing to achieve their goals. This tactic, seen previously during the opposition to the 2021 "change government" and the judicial reform period, highlighted the stark contrast between Winter's promise of "new politics" and the entrenched, unpleasant political maneuvering he encountered. The article concludes that instead of proving Winter's new politics impossible, the Netanyahu bloc's adversarial approach only reinforced why many Israelis desire such a change, suggesting that treating Winter as a potential partner rather than an enemy would have been a more strategic choice.
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