Once the last election in March was over, it took two days for Yisrael Beitenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman to come to his senses and realize that he can still complete his mission after all. There is still a chance for him to throw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of politics.

When news channels first released their exit polls, it looked like Netanyahu strengthened his right-wing ultra-Orthodox bloc and stood at the head of the largest party. Then there was Liberman. Photos and footage coming from his party headquarters showed him shattered and spent. It was as if the light that had kept him going had finally gone out. Personally, he lost support between the second and third rounds of the elections and ended up with just seven seats. It was a disappointing outcome, as far as he was concerned. While Netanyahu celebrated before thousands of adoring supporters, Liberman seemed listless, as he gave a speech of his own to a very limited audience. What made matters worse was that the Blue and White party, which he considered to be a partner in his mission to bring down Netanyahu, ended up with three seats less than the Likud (33 and 36, respectively).

That all changed two days later. After shutting himself in his home and laying his options on the table, Liberman concluded that all was not lost. His battle with Netanyahu had not been resolved. The Likud as a party may have gotten stronger, but Netanyahu still did not win the 61 seats that his right-wing ultra-Orthodox bloc needed to form a government. In fact, his bloc only had 58 seats, while the “anyone-but-Netanyahu” bloc had 62. This may have seemed meaningless at first. Both Liberman and the Blue and White party had made an explicit promise to their voters before the election that they would not cooperate with the Arab-dominated Joint List. While the opposing bloc seemed consolidated in its support for Netanyahu, the situation on Liberman’s side of the divide was very different.

So, Liberman made a series of phone calls to the senior leadership of the Blue and White party, talking especially with the party’s No. 2 Yair Lapid, his ally throughout the last year. In these calls, Liberman informed them that he would lift his veto against cooperation with the Arab Joint List, thus paving the way for a historically unprecedented political partnership. Meanwhile, in talks with his associates, Liberman made some scathing remarks about Netanyahu: “He thinks he’s king here. I’ll show him that there are still a few more good players in the rink,” said Liberman to one top political official, who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.