In a dramatic reshuffle on the Left, the far-left Meretz and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's Israel Democratic Party will be running on a joint ticket in the Sept. 17 election under the name Democratic Union, with Labor MK Stav Shafir as No. 3, the party leaders announced Thursday morning.
According to the agreement reached between the parties, Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz will hold the No. 1 slot on the list, followed by Shafir. Barak will be placed 10th at his own insistence, according to a statement released by the faction Thursday. He will, however, be guaranteed the first pick of ministerial posts if the party enters the government.
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Former GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, who recently joined Barak's party, was allotted the third slot on the list, with former Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg placed fourth. The top 10 places also reserve two other slots for candidates from Barak's party.
Shafir decided to leave Labor after she failed to convince new Labor chairman Amir Peretz to run on a joint ticket with Meretz and Barak.
The leaders of the new list issued a joint statement saying, "The initiators of the union believe that the establishment of the 'Democratic Union' is the first, vital step in the mission to bring Israel back onto the right path."
Zandberg called the decision "a dramatic move to strengthen the Left" and said it would strengthen "the positions of justice and equality as an alternative to a messianic, corrupt Right."
Barak tweeted a message to Peretz: "Amir, you were given bad advice from a bad advisor to join [Prime Minister] Netanyahu's chorus of liars … there is still time to fix this."
Meanwhile, the New Right and the United Right are still dealing with major rifts that could prevent them from joining forces in the upcoming election.
According to sources involved in negotiations on a possible joint ticket, the right-wing parties are divided over "basic issue" about who would head the list – former Justice Minister and New Right leader Ayelet Shaked or Education Minister Rafi Peretz – as well as how MKs would be placed.
Both parties claimed Wednesday that they wanted to run on a joint ticket, but each blamed the other for the failure to reach a deal. Sources in the United Right said, "Once again, the New Right is trusting polls and 'likes.'"
Shaked's party said in response that half the spots on the list would go to candidate from each party. "The technical bloc will be headed by the candidate who can bring in the largest number of seats, and that is Shaked," the New Right said.
Farther to the Right, Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir and Zehut leader Moshe Feiglin have reportedly reached basic understandings that could lead to them running on a single ticket in September.
