If immediately following the news of the Knesset's dissolution it seemed that we were once again looking at a heated election campaign, recent developments appear to point to another scenario entirely: The heads of both major political camps, Yesh Atid party head Yair Lapid and Likud party chief Benjamin Netanyahu, appear poised to try and appeal to the center for a change.
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The center, by definition, does not like extremes, meaning both Netanyahu and Lapid will try to ease tensions and blur and differences. Such a tactic would benefit the Israeli public.
Netanyahu on Monday held another meeting aimed at quieting Likud MK David Amsalem, one of the loudest voices in his party over the last year. The reason for this is that Netanyahu is looking to attract members of the quiet, stately Right that abandoned him in previous elections and kept him from securing the 61 Knesset seats he needed for a majority.
On both a political and personal level, this approach is the right one for Netanyahu. A leader of his stature is expected at this stage in his private and public life to conduct himself in a stately manner and exude a cohesive spirit.
But beyond that, the shift rightward is also expected to pay off politically. Assuming Bennett resigns from political life, Netanyahu has no reason to fear Yamina's Ayelet Shaked would give Lapid the mandate to form the government instead of him. The other parties in the right-wing camp would certainly prefer him to the alternatives. The way he sees it, the stately right-wing votes have gone for New Hope, Blue and White, and even Yesh Atid.
Therefore, if in previous election campaigns, Netanyahu was the one who helped Otzma Yehudit party head Itamar Ben-Gvir cross the electoral thresholds, this time around, he should confront the activist lawmaker. This would be the kind of quarrel both sides would enjoy.
Netanyahu won't be the only one attempting to woo the center. Prime Minister-designate Lapid has always rejected the left-wing label and claimed to be a centrist. In the coming election, his people say he will avoid fighting with either Labor head Meirav Michaeli or Meretz party head Nitzan Horowitz over left-wing votes. Instead, he will try to win over moderate right-wing voters that supported Sa'ar, Gantz, and even the Likud last time around. In practice, this effort mirrors Netanyahu's move.
Take, for example, a message Lapid sent to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last week that could have been taken directly out of Netanyahu's playbook. In a message that was clearly aimed at right-wingers in Israel, Lapid wrote: "this is a strategic mistake that sends the wrong message to Iran," the diplomat said, adding: "Talking about the great potential in the Iranian context, while Iran is trying to murder Israeli citizens throughout the world and especially in Turkey, indicates a worrying lack of care for the lives of Israeli citizens."
It's safe to assume that we will see similar moves from both sides up until the elections, if they are held at all.
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