If Blue and White emerges victorious after the election, it will seek to form a unity government with Likud, the centrist party's co-leader Yair Lapid said on Monday.
Lapid, who recently merged his party Yesh Atid with the Israel Resilience Party founded by former Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz, said that the offer would only be extended to Likud only if its leader is not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If Lapid and Gantz do form a government, they plan to share the role of prime minister on a rotating basis.
"We will not form a government with the Arab parties but we will turn to Likud in the day after Netanyahu," he said. "If we win, and I believe we shall win, I believe it would be incumbent upon us to ask the Likud to form a unity government in this era of division and strife. Such a government will reflect the values of unity, and it will also be a very wide government that will be able to do a lot," he continued.
Lapid and Gantz's newly formed party, Blue and White, has surged in the polls in the wake of their announcement of a joint ticket. But despite polling several seats ahead of Likud, the party is unlikely to command enough support in the Knesset to form a coalition and win a confidence vote to form a government.
"Of course one of the first calls we make is to Likud, if we are tasked to form a government, and Netanyahu will not stay on as leader [of Likud] if he loses the election," Lapid said.
Lapid said that the Likud is "an important Zionist party, it has good people and they have a good list of candidates for the Knesset."
Labor officials were quick to pounce on Lapid, saying that this shows that Blue and White is trying to deceive voters.
"The cat is out of the bag; Lapid has literally said that he would use voters' desire for change and then form another Likud government. Only a vote for Labor is the real prescription for a change of governments."
Likud also attacked Lapid, warning again that "Lapid and Gantz will create a weak leftist government that would rely on the Arab parties, they have no other choice," the party said. "Only a big Likud will prevent a leftist government."
