Gadi Eizenkot is emerging as the "gray horse" of the next national election. He is a person with values, and the positions he held in the military familiarized him with the positive and negative aspects of the political system. If he decides to form and lead a political party, he can rally more than a few supporters, mainly among those who label themselves "centrists."
Allegedly, the public's view of ex-generals turned politicians has been sullied by the experience with the Blue and White party. In theory, Eizenkot hasn't had enough time to learn the economic issues and a long list of other subjects he never encountered in the army. But, sometimes it's better to have a smart man with no experience than a fool with a great deal of it.
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If he does plunge into the political waters, he must ensure he does one thing above all else: really know the people on his party's list. Because time is short and much needs to be done, and because a new party must raise funds for an election campaign, public relations, interviews and compose a platform, the matter of forming a Knesset list – past the five top candidates – has been the lowest priority on the totem pole for newly formed parties on the eve of elections. He must not fall into the trap of appointing people at the last second, without knowing them well.
Several years ago, I met with a party leader after a member of his ticket became a laughingstock in the press for voicing positions that completely contradicted his own. I asked the party leader how someone like that entered the Knesset under his name, and he confessed to not having the faintest idea who the person was; he filled a certain sectoral slot on the list, a friend had recommended him and the list had to be submitted. Only a few days had passed before the magnitude of the mistake emerged.
In 2013, Yair Lapid selected the Yesh Atid members for his Knesset ticket. He adhered to the following principle: None of them could be a former MK or minister; and he stuck to that guideline. The problem was that two years later, during the ensuing election, there was no one on the list who could claim to be a fresh political outsider, because they had already served in the Knesset for two years, and ever since he has selected people with experience.
Israel Resilience, the party formed by Benny Gantz two years ago, suffered from a similar problem. A big part of the problem was finding good, even excellent people, completely lacking parliamentary of governmental experience. These people, however, invariably find themselves contending with more experienced, and therefore more sophisticated, counterparts. Gantz desperately needs polished parliamentarians but he has no one of the sort, and even the ministers from his party aren't seasoned enough to be dependable, especially against the veteran representatives of the other parties in the coalition.
Some of Gantz's partymates voice opinions that make him lose sleep at night, but he simply didn't get to know them before choosing them. He knew some of them from his military and other backgrounds; he believed he could trust them and that their views coincided with his, until they were appointed to Knesset committees or received ministerial portfolios and started expressing views in the press that completely contradicted his own views.
For numerous reasons, Eizenkot cannot convene a primary election, despite there being a precedent (in 1977, Yigal Yadin's party, the Democratic Movement for Change, held a primary under similar conditions). However, even if he also prefers the supposedly more convenient role of party Caesar – he would be advised to meet with every single person recommended to him, speak with them at length, and inquire about their views on a broad range of issues so that he isn't caught off guard and so that his voters don't quickly start pulling their hairs out.
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