Likud reviews strategy on Ofer Winter ahead of Israel’s elections — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party is reviewing its approach to Ofer Winter while focusing on increasing turnout in areas with strong support for the party. As The Jerusalem Post reports, Netanyahu’s inner circle fears that after the elections, Winter may join forces with Avigdor Liberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party.
Position on Winter
According to the publication’s sources, Likud’s current position on Winter has not changed so far. The party is trying to persuade him to withdraw his candidacy, so it is not currently considering a surplus-vote sharing agreement with him. The deadline for notifying the Central Election Commission of such an agreement expires on October 16, 11 days before the vote.
Some Likud representatives who support changing the approach disagree with concerns about a possible alliance between Winter and Liberman. They point out that polls place Winter in Netanyahu’s bloc, while Winter himself has not distanced himself from him. One party official suggested that the internal discussion could change if new polls show support for Winter at the level of six seats.
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Bet on voter mobilization
Likud is also concerned about a scenario in which Winter remains in the race but does not cross the electoral threshold. In that case, votes equivalent to several Knesset seats could be lost. According to the publication, this concern is based on internal polls conducted by Shlomo Filber and presented to Netanyahu and his inner circle.
The campaign identified polling stations where Likud received about 50% of the vote in previous elections, but overall turnout was around 35%. The party believes that some voters who did not turn out in these areas are its supporters. According to the campaign headquarters’ assessment, mobilizing this group could bring Likud two to three Knesset seats.
Due to restrictions on the use of the Elector system, the campaign headquarters intends to strengthen field work on election day. In particular, workers are planned to be stationed near polling stations to keep records, receive notifications about those who have already voted, and use a call center to mobilize supporters.
