Between Bennett and Eisenkot: The Right Has Not Weakened – It Is Looking for a Home | Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya
Ahead of the elections, polls show support for Bennett and Eisenkot, but the author argues that the right has not weakened but is seeking a new political home. He analyzes the vacuum created and the need for a new liberal right-wing party, loyal to the national bloc, tough on security, and liberal on personal freedoms. The mandates parked with Bennett and Eisenkot are not proof of the right's weakness, but that the new right has yet to emerge.
Ahead of the elections, new polls show support for Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, but the author, Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya, argues that the right is not weakening but is looking for a new political home. He explains that the gaps in the polls do not indicate a shift of right-wing voters to the left, but rather a search for an additional right-wing alternative: liberal, hawkish on security, democratic, part of the right-wing bloc. Bennett and Eisenkot benefit from this vacuum, but do not offer a real answer. Bennett lost the trust of right-wingers due to the perception of 'betrayal' of his voters, and Eisenkot, despite his military past, has not proven political leadership. Both are seen as a default, not a choice. The author points to a sociological gap: the right is identified with social groups, speech style, and religious identity, which distances educated seculars. He calls for the establishment of a new liberal right-wing party, loyal to the national bloc, tough on security, and liberal on personal freedoms, to bridge the cultural gap. The elections are critical: they will decide whether the right can renew itself and offer a home to those who left the Likud but not their worldview. The eight mandates did not move left; the right simply has not yet offered them a home.