Likud reevaluates strategy against Ofer Winter while shifting focus to turnout in loyal strongholds
As long as Likud continues trying to persuade Winter to withdraw, an agreement with him is not on the table. The party could still change its policy toward him through October 16.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is reevaluating its strategy regarding Ofer Winter, considering the possibility that he may align with Avigdor Liberman post-election. Currently, Likud maintains its approach towards Winter unchanged, according to party officials. However, some within the party, seeking a policy change, disagree, pointing out that polls still count Winter as part of the Netanyahu bloc and that he has not distanced himself from it.
An agreement regarding surplus votes is not necessary as the deadline for notifying the Central Elections Committee is October 16, 11 days before the election. Likud intends to continue persuading Winter to withdraw, but no agreement is on the table. The party's strategy could change based on upcoming polls, which might show Winter winning six seats, making it more difficult to pressure him into withdrawing.
Likud is focusing on boosting party voter turnout, believing it could significantly strengthen their position. The party has identified areas where they received strong support in the previous election but had low overall voter turnout. Campaign officials estimate that mobilizing these supporters could yield two to three Knesset seats for the party, based on previous voting patterns.
They aim to invest effort in bringing supporters to polling stations, despite restrictions on the use of Elector, by sending personnel to polling places to record voting and operating a telephone campaign center as a backup. The campaign's outlook is one of cautious optimism, as they believe many supporters who didn't vote in the last election can be brought to the polls this time, and Winter's potential withdrawal also influences their assessments.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
