Taking a chance on Gantz
Opinion: The former IDF chief keeps gathering steam even though he is still a virtual candidate about whom little is known politically
Even after the Knesset voted Wednesday to dissolve itself and head to early elections, former IDF Chief Benny Gantz kept mum about his political plans.
Gantz is expected to be one of the main stars of the 2019 elections, but in the meantime he is considered an enigma — not speaking of what he intends to do or even presenting his views to the public. Gantz is silent and yet his potential seat count is climbing, perhaps due to the yearning for something new that appears in almost every election campaign.
Gantz has maintained this thunderous silence for months, even refusing to speak truly openly with the people closest to him. His apparent behind-the-scenes plans to take the upcoming elections by storm has been carried out in total secrecy.
Ultimately, he has two options: to join one of the existing major parties or to compete in an entirely new one. The tall, stoic former army chief has been courted by several party leaders, including the Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, and Avi Gabbay of Zionist Union/Labor.
It has even been reported that Netanyahu even offered Gantz the post of foreign minister to both woo him over to the Likud and neutralize a real political threat (Netanyahu denied it; Gantz refused to comment). Lapid and Gabbay also bent over backwards, each offering him the number 2 spot on their Knesset lists and the role of defense minister should they be the one to form the next government. Last Thursday, Gabbay even presented his party's membership with a poll showing that Zionist Union would take 29 out of the Knesset's 120 seats with Gantz in the No. 2 spot.
An associate of the veteran soldier said that as his political stock rose and his polling skyrocketed, Gantz fell in love with the idea of running on his own list in the top spot. Why should he be beholden to someone else?
"Gantz could be defense minister in any government that is formed, so he is not willing to gamble on joining a particular party, but would rather run under his own steam," says a source who recently spoke to Gantz. "He's a very calculating man and everything he does is checked a thousand times, sometimes to his own detriment.
Benny Gantz has several political associates, such as Adina Bar-Shalom, former Yerucham mayor Michael Biton and attorney Rachel Turjeman, as well as a number of personal advisers working with him behind the scenes. A few weeks ago, close associates announced that they had formed the Ahi Yisraeli (My Israeli Brother) party, to create a platform for a future Gantz run. Gantz rejected this option, and Biton, announced last Saturday that he had decided to step down as chairman of My Israeli Brother to join whatever political entity that Gantz forms himself.
According to some reports, Gantz has already registered a new party to run in the upcoming elections, but he has not disclosed the details. Ehud Barak, another former IDF chief turned politician said this week that he is considering joining a united bloc against Netanyahu himself, and warned that Gantz would be making a mistake if he ran on his own ticket, as three moderate parties would fare less well against Netanyahu than one large one to going head to head with the prime minister.
Perhaps Benny Gantz will answer the prayers of those searching for an alternative to Netanyahu, but we must bear in mind that we still know nothing about the Gantz the politician, not Gantz the chief of staff. In the army, Gantz was a major general, but in politics he is a private.
Gantz does instill a certain amount of fear in Netanyahu and his people. After all, he did try to lure him over to the Likud. But the chances of this happening are low. A few weeks ago, a senior Likud minister close to the Netanyahu's said in a closed-door conversation that he had "embarrassing material" on Gantz and would release it as soon as the former army chief announced his entry into politics. Gantz's silence should end in the coming days and while that may end the enigma, Gantz will undoubtedly be one of the most fascinating characters of the 2019 elections.
