Erdan and Edelstein Launch New Party as Netanyahu’s Last Hope for Coalition Majority

Former Israeli ministers Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein are set to announce a new political party aimed at securing at least four Knesset seats to surpass the electoral threshold and join the next government. Both men, once senior figures in Netanyahu’s government, Erdan as Minister of Public Security and Edelstein as Knesset Speaker and former Health Minister, have found themselves sidelined politically and unlikely to secure realistic positions on the Likud list for the upcoming elections.

Erdan was effectively exiled to the U.S. and upon returning became a vocal critic of Netanyahu’s government, signaling his political marginalization. Edelstein clashed with his party over the contentious issue of military conscription, proposing a draft law that was rejected by ultra-Orthodox rabbis, which led to his removal from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairmanship. Both men’s political survival now depends on forming a new faction that can influence government formation.

Their new party explicitly rejects participation in any government reliant on Arab parties or the left-wing Democratic Camp, effectively ruling out coalitions led by figures like Gadi Eizenkot, Naftali Bennett, or Avigdor Lieberman. This stance aligns them closely with Netanyahu, despite past personal and political conflicts. The alliance is seen as Netanyahu’s last viable path to securing a governing majority.

The new party is expected to attract voters disillusioned with Netanyahu from within Likud, some from the Religious Zionist Party, and others from centrist voters who previously supported Benny Gantz but are now torn between alternatives like Lieberman, Bennett, and Eizenkot. Analysts suggest the party’s main purpose is to siphon votes from the anti-Netanyahu bloc and bolster Netanyahu’s coalition prospects, a fact that may not be fully disclosed to voters during the party’s launch.

This development underscores the pragmatic, survival-driven nature of Israeli politics, where ideological consistency often yields to strategic alliances and electoral calculations. The political futures of Erdan and Edelstein appear tied to Netanyahu’s ability to form the next government, despite their fraught histories with him.