Jewish Home chairman Rafi Peretz offered the second place on the list of the United Right to former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, but those close to her say that she would be unwilling to settle for anything less than first place. Peretz is afraid the list will lose the votes of those who do not agree to a non-observant candidate heading the Religious Zionists.
According to sources close to Shaked, the United Right will only receive a large number of seats if it's headed by her, enabling the establishment of a right-wing government with the haredim without relying on Avigdor Liberman and his party.
Without Shaked as the head, the united list is not expected to rise in terms of mandates. Sources say that if Shaked won't be given first place, she won't run for the Knesset or she'll consider doing so through a different political framework. "These are not ego struggles but rather insistence based on political analysis in order to ensure the establishment of a right-wing government," a source said. "Any other move may result in sitting in the opposition."
Meanwhile, the National Union party has taken the reins and launched a campaign aimed at raising public pressure on the right-wing parties to unite. The party is calling on the parties to leave behind the conflicts of ego, the media slander and the mutual accusations, and agree on a joint run in the upcoming elections.
National Union chairman and Transportation Minister MK Bezalel Smotrich has already made it clear that he will do everything possible to enable a joint run by right-wing parties, including personal concessions, referring to his place on the list.
"In the last few weeks of negotiations with the Likud [before the 21st Knesset was dissolved] about the government we wanted to be established, we saw how important it is that a strong right-wing party stand to the right of the Likud party. The differences between us are important but marginal in light of the heavy responsibility. We have to bring about the right's victory in the elections," Smotrich said.