JERUSALEM (AP) — A trio of forces on the Israeli left – including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak – united yesterday ahead of the upcoming elections, looking to pose a powerful contrast to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative ruling Likud party.
In a joint statement, “The Democratic Camp” said it would be made up of Barak’s “Democratic Israel” faction, the dovish Meretz party and senior Labor Party official Stav Shaffir. With just a week left to present the final lists for September’s elections, all sides were concerned they might not get enough votes by themselves to cross the electoral threshold. The move comes amid a flurry of machinations ahead of the “do-over” election in September, after Netanyahu failed to form a parliamentary majority following his seeming victory in April’s vote. To avoid giving his opponents a chance to build an alternative government, he dissolved Parliament and forced an unprecedented new election campaign.
Netanyahu’s various rivals have been seeking to seize on the rare opportunity to unseat him by putting their own differences aside. Barak, who in 1999 became prime minister by becoming the only person to date who defeated Netanyahu in a head-on show down, dramatically came out of retirement last month with the stated ambition of toppling him again by helping opposition forces create a large enough bloc to unseat Likud.
However, his new faction had thus far failed to make much of a splash in the polls.
The former military chief’s main contribution seemed to be getting under the skin of Netanyahu and his family.
Though Barak is headlining the manoeuvre, the 77-year-old will not lead the new list and does not appear to be a candidate to replace Netanyahu himself.
