In the election for the 25th Knesset, it would be best if Labor and Meretz ran on a joint ticket, with each party preserving its unique characteristics. This is not only a solution to the obstacle of the minimum electoral threshold (because I'm certain that they would both make it in even if they ran separately), but also because there is no justification for two parties that have so much in common to waste energy competing against each other. Instead, they could compete together against elements in Israeli society that do not believe in equality, that have decided to accept a one-state reality from Jordan to the sea, and who are horrified to see human rights expanded.
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A joint ticket would be a social-democratic, Zionist one This is what makes Meretz and Labor special when compared to all the other parties in the Knesset. It's not just an empty slogan like the ones from Blue and White or Yesh Atid – this is a way of life that should be fought for, and it will be very hard to do that if the two parties stay separate.
I'm sorry Nitzan Horowitz decided not to run for Meretz leader. His decisions as party leader, when it came to Meretz joining the Bennett-Lapid government and other contexts, were well-considered, and the fact that he misread Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi is not enough reason for his decision not to continue as party leader.
Horowitz took on his role as health minister quickly and made the right decisions, despite the complexity. But Meretz's clear ideological character and its stress on matters of values that are part of the dispute in Israeli society have led to a situation in which success does not hinge on a single personality. True, there is always a certain importance to whose hand is on the wheel, but for Meretz, unlike other parties, the question is a secondary one.
The party much hold primaries for its leader and Knesset faction as planned, while the Labor party does the same, and allow Meirav Michaeli to serve as head of a joint ticket. In principle, and particularly if polls show that it could be a viable option, I would suggest forming a democratic front along with Yesh Atid, under Yair Lapid. A faction like that could be the largest one in the Knesset and after the election could bring parties like Blue and White and Ra'am into the next coalition.
A situation in which Meretz takes votes away from Labor, or Labor takes votes from Meretz, and Yesh Atid tries to win votes from them both, would be the worst possible thing for the camp that wants to prevent Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu out of the prime minister's seat and promote a peace process with the Palestinians. On the other hand, a tripartite front could focus on wooing skeptical and pessimistic center-left voters and getting them to the polls, and allow Blue and White to concentrate on attracting votes from the center-right.
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