The Likud and United Right will merge and run as one united party in the next election, the two parties announced on Thursday evening.
The announcement marks a new phase in the remarkable turnaround by United Right chairman, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who left the Likud in December 2020 over heavy criticism of the party’s leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two sides published the signed agreement. It stipulates that ahead of the next election, Sa’ar will appoint someone of his choosing to fill the highest slot in the Likud list that is “reserved” for the prime minister, which must be higher than 15th on the list.
The slot will likely go to Sa’ar’s number two, MK Ze’ev Elkin. Sa’ar himself will likely contend in the primary election and not need a reserved spot.
In addition, 2,400 members of United Right will receive the right to enlist in the Likud and vote and run in the primary election ahead of the next national election, while Sa’ar will be given the power to appoint 100 members of the Likud Central Committee, the party’s chief organ.
The agreement must be approved in the Likud Secretariat and the similar body in the United Right within seven days and in the Likud Central Committee within 90 days.
Once the Likud Central Committee approves the prime minister’s “reserved” spots ahead of the next primary election, the two parties will officially merge into one, and United Right will cease to exist as an independent faction.
The merged party will run in the next election under the name “Likud” and the Likud’s traditional ballot letters.According to the agreement, once the official merger happens, United Right will no longer have the right to vote independently on legislation regarding the judicial system, nor on basic laws proposed by the government.
The agreement also stipulated that the United Right will send delegates to the World Zionist Congress based on its relative size in the Knesset, unless the official merger happens first, in which case the united party will send delegates based on its joint sides.
Two parties will act as one in Knesset
In the meantime, while still technically separate, the two parties will act as one in the Knesset and hold joint party meetings. The agreement ended speculations that Sa’ar and his fellow party members would run as part of the Likud in the next election. It also marks another stage in the remarkable series of political maneuvers by Sa’ar since the Hamas massacre on October 7.
As part of MK Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, Sa’ar joined the government on October 11 in order to take part in the war effort. He had previously issued harsh criticism of the government’s judicial reforms. Then, in March, Sa’ar announced that he was breaking away from Gantz’s party and quitting the government over criticism of the management of the war by the war cabinet at the time, of which he was not a member.
Sa’ar then rejoined the government in September, at first as a minister-without-portfolio. However, immediately after Netanyahu fired former defense minister Yoav Gallant in early November, he signed a coalition agreement with Sa’ar, who became foreign minister, replacing Yisrael Katz, who became defense minister.
Alongside Sa’ar, Elkin became a minister within the Finance Ministry responsible for the rehabilitation of the northern and Gaza border areas, and MK Sharren Haskel became deputy foreign minister.
Sa’ar said that the agreement symbolized a “return to the home that was my home for most of my adult life and public career: the Likud movement.”
Sa’ar thanked Netanyahu for “putting aside the grievances of the past.” He also issued veiled criticism of members of the opposition, writing that “not everyone understood” that “October 7 and the historical events that followed were supposed to completely change the political system, priorities, and strategy of our elected officials and parties.”
He continued, “The differences between us, in a historical perspective, will appear as insignificant nuances compared to the destructive intentions of our enemies and the immense challenges ahead of us,” adding that the move would “strengthen the State of Israel at a crucial historical moment” and “strengthen the national camp.”