Foreign Minister and Chairman of Yisrael Beitenu Avigdor Liberman was the first to signal that he sees no chance of Zionist Camp Chair Isaac Herzog forming the next government. Liberman is known for his ability to read the current political map and to adjust himself accordingly. It should be remembered that he entered the election campaign as the person who would determine whether incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would continue serving as prime minister. He then moved himself and his party to the center with a diplomatic plan and even dared to consider himself a candidate for prime minister. Those were the days, however, when the “Anyone but Bibi” coalition was gathering momentum, and it looked as if the threesome of Liberman, Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri and Kulanu Party leader Moshe Kahlon would determine Netanyahu’s fate. This ultimately provided the tailwind needed to propel Herzog and Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni to join forces in December 2014.
Then the Yisrael Beitenu scandal erupted. The party collapsed in the polls, and Liberman returned to his natural element on the right, hoping to save his core of supporters for himself. Those supporters are embedded deeply on the right.
