Lieberman and Bennett preparing the ground? Growing concern in the Eisenkot headquarters

First publication: In the Eisenkot headquarters, concern is growing that Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett are not aligning behind his leadership. Despite the steady rise in polls and the almost inevitable fact that the 'Yashar' party under his leadership will finish the elections as the largest party in the opposition bloc, the fear in Gadi Eisenkot's election headquarters is growing regarding potential political extortion from those who are supposed to be his senior partners in the government. The reason: so far, not only have they not announced that they will follow the leader of the largest party, as is customary, but they have even hinted, each separately, that the size of the party does not determine the outcome.

Eisenkot addressed this himself this week, stating in an interview:

"A reality in which a party head with 8-10 mandates demands the premiership is inappropriate."

His associates clarified that his words were aimed directly at Lieberman and Bennett. However, since then, the two have not only failed to align, but have sharpened their message that they do not intend to give up their candidacy for prime minister so easily. The fear in the Eisenkot headquarters is that even if the two eventually align in the event of a bloc victory, explicit statements—especially by Lieberman—that he does not see Eisenkot as a preferable candidate, are intended for political extortion, where Lieberman may use these statements to demand a premiership rotation or a series of senior portfolios disproportionate to his actual election results.

The fear increased significantly when a close associate of Lieberman, MK Yulia Malinovsky, explicitly stated in a podcast interview that it is not the head of the largest party, but "the one with experience who is worthy of leading the next government of change."

"Today, Lieberman is the person with the most experience. He comes with proof that he has a long-term vision. We saw this with his warnings regarding Gaza and with the fortification of the North. I say this: there is no substitute for experience for all those who think they can just come like that and in a flash."

She referred directly to Eisenkot, saying, "You cannot enlist in the army, be a soldier, and immediately after that be Chief of Staff. It doesn't work like that. You need to make a journey." But the sentence that most alarmed Eisenkot's team was her explicit statement that "there is very strong talk also on the side of Knesset members from the current coalition, they predict that Lieberman will be prime minister. Avigdor Lieberman can, is capable, and should be prime minister."