Gantz and Erdan discuss merger as both parties struggle below electoral threshold

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz and Unity Party leader Gilad Erdan met Wednesday to discuss a possible merger ahead of the upcoming election, with both sides working on the assumption that neither party is currently expected to clear the electoral threshold on its own. The logic behind the talks is straightforward: running together could improve their chances of surviving politically. The main obstacle is leadership. According to assessments, neither Gantz nor Erdan is prepared to give up the top spot on a joint ticket. Erdan’s main advantage in a partnership is financial. Blue and White still has substantial party funding available. Gantz, however, has struggled for months to improve his standing in the polls, while his party has continued to decline and lawmakers have increasingly pressed him to take action. At the same time, Gantz is also holding talks about bringing former justice minister Ayelet Shaked into a possible alliance with Erdan. But even that may not be enough. A source familiar with the discussions said that “even after a possible merger between the two parties, it would be difficult to cross the electoral threshold.” The Unity Party said the meeting had been positive. “A positive meeting was held this morning between Unity chairman Gilad Erdan and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz,” the party said. “As Erdan has said in recent days, he is intensifying efforts to promote mergers within the unity bloc. Another meeting between the sides will take place in the coming days.” The talks come amid growing turmoil inside Blue and White. Just a day earlier, party officials warned that “Benny Gantz is taking the party to ruin.” The criticism followed Gantz’s message that he would not provide the 61st vote needed to establish a government led by Gadi Eisenkot. Against that backdrop, lawmaker Yael Ron Ben Moshe announced that she was leaving the party. Ron Ben Moshe, a former Blue and White director general, accused Gantz of “causing damage to the change bloc” and said she would not take part “in the new political framework he is working to establish.” “The effort to create unity is more than worthy,” she said. “But in my view, in the current way and at this time, not only could the effort be in vain, it could also cause damage.”