Ronen Tzur warns: "If they don't shrink their egos, they will find themselves in a political desert"

Strategic consultant Ronen Tzur addressed today in a conversation with Roni Bar-On and Maya Ziv-Wolf on 103fm the political moves surrounding Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, who is working to establish a new party, and the tension between him and 'Yashar!' chairman Gadi Eisenkot.

"Winter is one of the truly interesting things, — Tzur said. — A person comes along who has already attacked Netanyahu over everything happening with Hamas, announced in January 2026 that he would not sit with Bennett, and yesterday announced that he would never in his life sit with Eisenkot. There is bad blood between them because he claims Eisenkot tried to remove him from the IDF."

Tzur wondered how Winter intends to integrate into the political system when he rules out in advance a series of possible partners from both sides. "And then I asked myself, maybe Winter is going to form a government at all? Because he says he won't sit with anyone. This is essentially hubris. We will see the first polls. I assume Winter will encounter the same barrier that all new parties have encountered."

"If they don't shrink their egos – they will find themselves in a political desert"

Later, Tzur also addressed the difficulty of the parties opposing Netanyahu in creating a single political front. According to him, it is not just about ego struggles, but also about deep personal and political gaps between some of the figures.

"It's not just ego. There are people who can sit together, and there are people who cannot sit together. I don't think it's possible to seat Winter with Chili Tropper. This whole group has almost the last chance to stay on the political wheel. In these elections, if they don't stay on the political wheel, it is very possible that in the next elections everyone will look for a job in the public or civil world."

According to him, as the date for submitting the lists approaches, the pressure on parties and political players to reach connections is expected to increase.

"These people are looking to stay on the political wheel, they are burning for it, — Tzur claimed. — If they don't shrink their egos, they will find themselves in a political desert. On September 7th is the submission of the lists. Some of them are aiming for the large and more stable parties to reserve spots and call them, and if that doesn't happen, their flexibility regarding connections will be much greater."

Tzur listed some of the names that, in his estimation, could integrate into various lists. "Chili Tropper could be with Eisenkot and also with Bennett. Yoaz Hendel could be with Eisenkot when he looks. He could be a right wing. The problem is that Yoaz has gone through a great many parties."

Also, the name of Gilad Erdan came up as a possibility for a future connection. "Erdan could find himself in an extreme constellation called by Netanyahu, who might find himself in distress and swallow the frog. Maybe Winter. There is a third place for a reservation."

According to Tzur, a possible connection between Winter and other figures from the right could create significant electoral power. "It could be that a connection between Winter and Erdan could show not bad numbers. I would check this matter. Also with Edelstein."

However, according to him, at the current stage, Winter's entry into the political system mainly affects the distribution of votes within the camp. "Winter is currently splitting the voters, mainly within the deep right," he concluded.