Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni will soon assume the role of opposition leader, after striking a deal with party leader Avi Gabbay regarding a joint ticket for the next election.
In the 2015 election, Livni, who heads the Hatnuah party, joined forces with then-Labor leader Isaac Herzog, forming a joint Hatnuah-Labor candidate list known as the Zionist Union.
After the election, Herzog became the head of the opposition. He retained this title even after Gabbay replaced him as Labor chairman in 2017, but when Herzog was named the new Jewish Agency chief, Gabbay, who is not a member of Knesset and cannot serve as opposition leader, had to decide on a replacement.
Initially, Gabbay rejected Livni as a candidate, but after deliberation, conceded to Livni's demands to be named opposition leader in Herzog's place. Livni's nomination is still pending final approval by the Knesset, but that is largely a procedural hurdle.
Livni got the nod to become opposition leader after agreeing to void the rotation deal she had struck with Herzog ahead of the 2015 election. That agreement would have resulted in a rotating premiership in the event that the Zionist Union won the next election and succeeded in establishing, and leading, a coalition.
Livni previously served as opposition leader between 2009 and 2012, when she led the Kadima party.
Gabbay's associates stressed on Monday that Livni may have to forfeit her guaranteed second place slot in Zionist Union's Knesset candidate list if former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz or former Prime Minister Ehud Barak decide to enter politics and join Labor.
"We are taking a major step toward offering an alternative to the current government," Gabbay said in a joint press conference with Livni. "We are creating a camp that will provide new hope for the people of Israel and help us reach out to new constituencies, and Livni adds immense experience, especially on foreign policy and national security, and I have no doubt that she will bring new energy into the opposition."
Livni said that she and Gabbay are "joining hands and creating a strong opposition and strong alternative that has the Zionist Union as its linchpin."
"We decided to bolster the Zionist Union as the foundation for a wide bloc and to work together – me as the head of the opposition and Gabbay as the head of the Zionist Union and its candidate for prime minister, in order to replace the [existing] government," she said.
