What's motivating the various players in the current political game? According to Dr. Shlomo Egoz of the Politics and Media Department at Hadassah Academic College, it's a simple matter of personal interest - that is, when it comes to certain personalities.
When discussing MK Avigdor Liberman of the Yisrael Beytenu party, Dr. Egoz makes this point particularly strongly. "Liberman may be using Gantz more than Gantz is using Liberman," he says. "He can do this because he's the powerbroker right now," since the seven MKs from his party have as yet resisted affiliating themselves to either the right-wing or the center-left-wing bloc.
"If we try to make sense of Liberman's behavior during the past year," Dr. Egoz says, "it looks very much like he [has changed tactics and] is no longer demanding an end to the rule of Netanyahu. However, members of his party have been signaling to him that they want him to support a Gantz-led government from the outside, and also lend his support to legislation that will prevent Netanyahu from forming a government.
"On the other hand, Liberman is at heart a right-winger. He once entertained ambitions of reaching the leadership of the Likud or at least the right-wing bloc. Therefore, it's debatable whether he actually intends to join Gantz in a unity government. I consider it more likely that he is using Gantz [to further his own political ambitions]. If he does join Gantz, it could be he expects that this will lead to the formation of a unity government under his leadership, a temporary left-wing government supported [from the outside] by the Joint [Arab List]. The ultimate goal of both Gantz and Liberman in such a scenario would be to force the Likud to agree to a unity government on their terms, namely that Netanyahu can only serve as Prime Minister if he is acquitted of all charges in court," and that meanwhile, Gantz would serve as Prime Minister. READ MORE
