Gilad Erdan says Unity Party weighs alliances, seeks broad government without radicals - interview

The newly formed right-wing Unity party has been considering political alliances to boost its chances of clearing the electoral threshold ahead of the deadline to submit lists next week, party leader and former ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan told The Jerusalem Post in an interview Thursday as he laid out party plans ahead of the upcoming election.

“I still do believe that once we show the public a few parties together that are already above the political threshold, it will give a real boost to people to vote for us because they will know almost for sure that the vote is not going to be wasted,” Erdan said.

Erdan spoke to the Post as his Unity party has been failing to pass the electoral threshold on its own in recent polling.

There have been numerous reports that Erdan has been considering a merger with Blue and White leader MK Benny Gantz or with Chili Tropper’s Zionist Home-The Reservists party, both of which have also fallen below the threshold in recent polling.

Erdan and the second candidate on his list, Yuli Edelstein, are both former Likud members. The party has positioned itself as a right-wing party calling for universal IDF conscription.

The emergence of a group of small right-wing parties comes amid growing tensions over the issue of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) conscription and dissatisfaction among some right-wing voters with the existing parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

Erdan says the country needs a broad government

Erdan told the Post that the country requires a broad government, capable of bringing together both sides of the political spectrum rather than relying on narrow coalitions with extremists.

“I’m positively confident that there are many people who have had enough of the divisions from narrow governments and from the fact that one side only wants to destroy or topple the other side,” he said.

He added that division does not “bring any real solutions to the table.”

“It doesn’t change the daily life of the Israelis who suffer because they have to go so many days to do their reserve time in the military or pay the high cost of living in Israel or see us without any agreement on a real judicial reform that is so needed,” Erdan said.

Erdan seeks unity rather than committing to a Netanyahu-led government

Asked whether he would be willing to join a government led by Netanyahu, Erdan said his party was seeking unity rather than ruling out either side of the political spectrum.

“That’s what really the people of Israel need, especially after October 7.”

“We want to be the political force that will demand bridging and connecting the two political sides.”

Erdan said that he would not boycott other parties but would require them to abide by a set of principles they have established. This would also determine whether he would be able to support a government led by Netanyahu or leading rival candidate Gadi Eisenkot.

“We don’t want any radical party to have veto power or an influence, a strong influence on the government.”

The principles laid out by Erdan included “No withdrawals, no Palestinian state, a real conscription law that only those who serve two years or more in national service or military can get all the benefits from the government.”

“Whoever doesn’t serve or decides not to serve doesn’t get anything,” Erdan added.

Erdan noted that after October 7, non-domestic issues such as the establishment of a Palestinian state were no longer matters that divided parties as they had in past elections – since there was now general agreement against it.

He said that this too allowed for more unity.

Issues to tackle: cost of living, enactment of a judicial reform, and national service

Erdan added that a broad coalition would be necessary to tackle issues such as the cost of living, enactment of a judicial reform, and national service, as political stability would allow for a “government that is stable and cannot be blackmailed.”

“And that’s the main principle that we’re trying to agree upon with the other parties that we’re negotiating with. And if they meet these principles, then ego is not going to be the problem from our side.”

Erdan also criticized the government over Israel’s international public diplomacy efforts.

“I know firsthand all the failures of our government, and – I am saying it with a lot of sadness – Netanyahu truly abandoned this arena.”

He noted that, currently, Israel was being  branded abroad internationally “as a pariah, as baby killers, as an apartheid state, or as committing a genocide or starving our enemies.”

Edran said that he planned on investing billions into improving Israel’s public standing and repairing such views.