Former Knesset member Zehava Galon, who is now running in the Meretz party primaries, has set herself a goal: "To ensure that there will be a government led by [Prime Minister Yair] Lapid.
In an interview with Haaretz, Galon explained the personal journey she has undergone in the past few years, after she resigned from the Knesset.
"It's kind of funny to say, but I am more mature, in the sense of political management," she said. "Opposition is a phase where you attack the whole world. Today I am in a different phase, a task-oriented phase, to make sure that there will be a Lapid-led government here. And within it, I see myself as a bridge - between Arabs and Jews, between haredim and secular, and also with the Right."
"I am a good friend, a real friend, of all the relevant party heads," she added, listing the names of the heads of the United Torah Judaism, New Hope, Yesh Atid, and Blue and White parties, and adding, "the leaders of the Arab parties, obviously. I am coming back different."
In the past, Galon has called Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) a "fascist, transferist, and the most corrupt person in Israeli politics." Now, she said, "I am not changing my mind. Liberman also has changed somehow, at least in what he says."
"Liberman sat in a government with an Arab party. That is a dramatic thing for someone who called for the transfer of the Arabs in Wadi Ara. Let there not be any misunderstandings, I am not trying to give Liberman a stamp of approval. But in the outgoing government he swallowed it. And in certain circumstances, we all need to swallow it."
When asked if she would be a partner in a government which included the Arab parties, she said, "That could be fine. Meaning, obviously my aspiration is a democratic country without religious coercion, which allows civil marriage. But in the scenario of a government with the haredim, which prevents the return of [MK Benjamin] Netanyahu, we will be able to reach agreements with them on social-economic issues. [MK Moshe] Gafni (United Torah Judaism) and I once published an economic-social plan which was an alternative to Netanyahu's policies."