Russian-Israeli tycoon and philanthropist Arcadi Gaydamak has decided to form a political party that will act as an ally of the Likud and of its head, MK Binyamin Netanyahu. Gaydamak has commissioned surveys which give his party up to 25 Knesset seats. Haaretz reports that Gaydamak does not plan to be a candidate himself. Rather, he is opting for the creation of a party in which he will have the role of external mentor, much like Rabbi Ovadyah Yosef's role in the hareidi-religious sephardic Shas party.
The party will probably not have a security platform, and will concentrate instead on social and economic issues alone. The party line on these issues is expected to be of a social nature, and in favor of taxation on the rich. This could help garner many votes that Opposition Chairman Netanyahu is not likely to attract, because of the unpopular nature of his policies during his term as Minister of Finance.
Netanyahu and Gaydamak have been showing a marked degree of public cooperation lately. Gaydamak has, in the past, publicly supported Netanyahu as candidate for prime minister, and Netanyahu was Gaydamak's guest in a Chanukah party he held recently. Both men have recently complimented each other in interviews to the Russian-language media. Surveys reportedly show Netanyahu's popularity rising by 17% in this sector since the interviews.
Gaydamak's main Achilles heel is his alleged involvement in arms deals with the Angolan government – deals that have come to be known as "l'Angolagate" in France, and for which the French courts have asked Israel to extradite Gaydamak. Israeli courts refused the request. Gaydamak, who has done extensive business in France, is said to have fled France after an arrest warrant was issued against him on the matter of the arms deals, as well as tax evasion.
Commenting on this matter, Binyamin Netanyahu told a Russian language TV channel that a man is innocent until proven guilty, and he has no interest in Gaydamak's financial past.
Gaydamak has donated to many Israeli charities, including Magen David Adom, Chabad and Hatzolah. An attempt to donate $50 million to the Jewish Agency and become a board member was scuttled after a leak that the Israeli police warned the Jewish Agency not to receive the donation. During the 2006 Lebanon War, Gaydamak constructed a tent village on the southern beach of Nitzanim that hosted thousands of families who fled the war-torn north. Gaydamak's contributions to the tent city totalled $15 million. In November 2006, he funded a week-long vacation in Eilat for hundreds of Sderot residents, who were suffering from an especially intensive campaign of rocket attacks from Gaza.