Netanyahu Struggles to Prevent Opposition Alliance Threatening Likud Vote Share

The Likud party is increasingly concerned about a potential alliance between opposition figures Ofer Winter and Yosef Hadad, which could significantly strengthen a new party and draw votes away from the right-wing bloc. Senior Likud officials are pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consider reserving safe spots on the party list for Hadad to weaken this emerging coalition. Negotiations between Winter and Hadad are advancing toward a full merger rather than a temporary electoral bloc, with Hadad demanding three spots in the top ten candidates, signaling his influence on the candidate lineup.

Likud fears that if the new list crosses the electoral threshold, it will be difficult to convince Winter to withdraw, potentially fracturing the right-wing vote further and complicating any late-stage alliance with Bezalel Smotrich. The concern extends beyond Winter’s candidacy to the broader uncertainty over multiple right-wing lists competing for the same voter base, which could result in many votes being wasted below the threshold, ultimately costing the right-wing bloc seats in the Knesset.

This dynamic has intensified discussions about Netanyahu’s use of reserved slots on the Likud list as a strategic tool to preempt the Winter-Hadad alliance and support Smotrich if he struggles to pass the threshold. The competition among right-wing factions for overlapping voters makes the allocation of these reserved spots critical to maximizing the bloc’s overall parliamentary representation ahead of the upcoming elections.