Three months before the early parliamentary elections in Israel, the opposition splits: The Labor Party leader, Avi Gabbay, today announced the Zionist Union with the opposition leader and former minister Tzipi Livni. The Zionist Union was a coalition of Livni’s Hatnua (Movement) party and the Gabbay Labor Party.
In the 2015 election, she had won 24 of the 120 seats in parliament, behind the right-wing Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with 30 seats. Gabbay has been at the head of the Labor Party since 2017, when he took over the alliance. His collaboration with Livni was difficult.
Livni wants to focus on choice
„I still believe in partnership, in connections to unite a large camp that is convinced of change,“ said Gabbay at a meeting of parliamentarians of the Zionist Union. But that was not the case in the alliance with Livni.
The opposition leader took up the termination of the alliance with petrified mine and seemed surprised. She explained shortly after in the short message service Twitter, it was „good that all doubts have been resolved.“ She could now concentrate on „the important goal“ of the change of power.
Reorganization of the political camps
Before the poll on April 9, the political camps rearranged themselves: just a few days ago, two right-wing Ministers of the Netanyahu Cabinet had split off from the national-religious settler party Jewish Home and founded a new right-wing party.
Netanyahu is currently leading the most right-wing government in the history of Israel and wants to forge a similar alliance after the election. Despite corruption investigations against him, he can expect to become head of government again. An indictment of Netanyahu will be decided in the coming months.
