Opinion Eat and drink because tomorrow we will lose: the Lapid plan - to run for another election Israel today

After five rounds of elections, it is hard to imagine a political move that the Israeli public has not yet seen.

The citizen with the blue ID card will arrive at the polling station on the first day of November with the message to the voter in hand, after being exposed to every campaign, hearing every speech, swallowing every intimidation and dizzy from every spin.

Still, the fifth election in number provides a new surprise, perhaps unusual, even on an international level.

For the first time, a political candidate adopts a strategy of defeat, a plan rooted in the understanding that the chance of winning the elections is lost, and all political and campaign activity is derived from it.

Already a few weeks ago, it was written in this column that Lapid's main goal is to drag the country into six elections, a publication that infuriated Lapid and his entourage, as well as among his bloc partners and the interest in continuing the deep political crisis, provided that Lapid does not lose his seat, and no less important - to prevent the return to the chair of the opposition chairman Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Made an alliance with Sa'ar, photo: Mark Israel Salem

Prime Minister Lapid's speech at the UN Assembly

But fictitious rage on the one hand and reality on the other.

And the reality is that the Prime Minister's Office internalized that the chance of producing 61 fingers in the Knesset to satisfy Lapid again as Prime Minister is slim.

The split of the joint list nailed the last nail in the coffin of the victory campaign, and put the strategy of defeat concocted by Lapid with the assistance, support and backing of friends Sa'ar and Bennett into high gear.

The road to achieving the goal after the loss passes through the few kilometers between Ramat Aviv, the home of the current Prime Minister, and Pankas Street in Tel Aviv, where Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar resides.

The two made an alliance, they have the same interests, and they are coordinated in every move. 

the terms of defeat

The first condition for the success of the defeat strategy is preventing the establishment of Netanyahu's 61 government.

For this purpose, Sa'ar and Lapid brought into action the alternate Prime Minister Bennett, who rarely makes public appearances but was very active behind the scenes.

Bennett is the man who brought about the union between Ayelet Shaked and the Jewish Home and Yossi Brodani.

In the days before the tectonic unification, through Bennett's mediation and with Lapid's blessing, the former head of Bennett's office Tal Gan Zvi, Ayelet Shaked and the head of the Jewish Home Hagit Moshe met, and this finally led to the joint Brodney-Shaked run, with the idea being simple: Shaked will burn votes for the right and block Netanyahu.

Naftali Bennett.

is behind the union of Shaked with the Jewish Home, photo: Oren Ben Hakon

In another section, Bennett himself met with Gadi Eisenkot, and managed to convince him to place Matan Kahana on the list of the state camp.

Eisenkot made it clear to Gantz that if he is not placed as Hana, he will choose to join Lish Atid, rather than the state camp.

Gantz was forced to agree, and even publicly admitted that Matan Kahana was "forced on him".

Bennett, of course, was not struck by the spirit of generosity and friendship.

Another round of elections, he believes, will open the door for him back to the political system and to what he sees as the natural order: he is in the lead, Shaked only in second place as a loyal deputy.

In the meantime, he bought himself a party whose entire essence is to prevent the rule of the right, and a dormant agent on Gantz's list.

A similar move was made by Gideon Sa'ar, who, as part of the defeat strategy, made sure to reserve the ultimate associate, Michal Shir, in the Yesh Atid list.

The Minister of Justice prayed in Rosh Hashanah prayers that the sixth round of elections would put him in an improved political position against Likud from the right, with Netanyahu - and it would be better without him.

Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar.

Tried to split the ultra-orthodox parties, photo: Yossi Zeliger

Sa'ar is doing everything he can to torpedo the establishment of a right-wing government.

Among other things, he tried to split the ultra-orthodox parties.

The attempt failed, but along the way other experiments were made, such as a weak protest in front of the political moves and torch announcements.

This week, for example, Minister Ze'ev Elkin said that Lapid's speech at the UN on the issue of the two states was a violation of the coalition agreement. But what is yesterday's coalition agreement and the implementation of left-wing policies, in the face of Sa'ar's dream of revenge, network and thwarting Netanyahu tomorrow?

The nagging question phase

The last step in the strategy of defeat belongs to the senior player in the political system and the main generator of the idea of ​​victorious defeat, Prime Minister Lapid.

The main part of Yesh Atid's campaign deals with Yair Lapid's branding for the day after the defeat.

This is why when he was asked difficult questions in an interview he gave to Yehuda Schlesinger, regarding the composition of the government he will try to form and policy issues, he replied with a repeated answer: "Ask me after the elections."

The most valuable tool for Lapid, in preparation for election number 6 to which he is dragging the country, is the number of mandates.

Lapid wants to reach the day after he wins the 30 seats in the Knesset, so that in the next round he will be the head of the only bloc, the main contender against Netanyahu, and the one who has broad public support.

The mechanics are simple: eat and drink because tomorrow we will lose, or rather - drink and drink because defeat is imminent.

Lapid knows that his expansion will be at the expense of the living space of the parties to his left, also at the cost of sending them below the percentage of the block, and he intends to try to drink the votes of Meretz and Labor without sentiment or special feelings of guilt.

This is a transparent experience, even with the naked eye.

Lapid played chants that are pleasing to the left ear in the newspaper "Haaretz", supported two countries on the stage of the United Nations and spreads the aroma of Oslo on every stage. The goal justifies the means as far as Lapid is concerned, including sixth elections.

Lieberman.

Remained outside the alliance, photo: Oren Ben Hakon

The defeat strategy also has what is called in military parlance "environmental damage".

The main victim is Avigdor Lieberman, who remains outside the Lapid-Saar-Bent tripartite alliance and begins to feel the danger of the blockade burning under him, which explains his increasingly radical behavior.

In the month remaining until the opening of the polls, the thinkers and implementers of the defeat strategy will focus on one thing: how to bring Israel to another round this spring as well while maximizing profits?

Their success is not our success.

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