New Right leader Ayelet Shaked has set her sights high – she wants to become the leader of a united bloc of all right-wing parties to the right of the Likud.
In her first speech as head of the party she formed together with Naftali Bennett, Shaked urged Habayit Hayehudi leader Rafi Peretz to step aside and let her lead a merged faction. Once she does that, she will be in the best possible position to join Likud in the post-Netanyahu era.
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Peretz, for his part, is on the fence. Shaked certainly has better voter appeal, he knows that much, but she and Bennett's split from Habayit Hayehudi also caused a split within the national-religious camp. Moreover, the fact that their party failed to pass the electoral threshold in April's elections eventually meant that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form a coalition and had to call unprecedented repeat elections for Sept. 17.
Peretz expected Bennett and Shaked to come courting with their heads bowed – not launch an election campaign that paints him into a corner. Only in Israeli politics can a party that failed to get elected demand a larger party yield to its demands.
On the other hand, Shaked's electoral appeal cannot be denied, and in her years in politics, she has been careful not to clash with elements she thought she would one day have to work with, like Netanyahu or the leaders of the smaller right-wing parties.
While Bennett waged wars and set ultimatums – including the one that got Shaked named justice minister – she made sure to only battle the opposition, taking credit where credit was due.
It remains to be seen, however, whether Netanyahu decided to weigh in, as he did before the April 9 elections when he pushed Habayit Hayehudi to join forces with National Union.
At this point, the prime minister said that he will let the parties to the right of Likud carry on at will, but it is likely that if he deems necessary he will try to engineer the bloc to better suit his needs.
Netanyahu needs time to evaluate the parties to his right, and if he sees any of them is in danger of falling below the 3.25% electoral threshold he will move for a merger.
The fact that Bennett chose to place the good of his party and the right-wing bloc ahead of his own ego cannot be understated. The decision couldn't have been an easy one, as a potential merger with the United Right could see him placed fourth on their slate. This may leave him without a portfolio in the next government – quite the fall from grace for the former leader of Habayit Hayehudi.
Many hold Bennett responsible for the split in the national-religious camp, which most likely would not have happened had he not broker away from Habayit Hayehudi. Bennett is now paying the price but it is one that he made himself pay.
