Netanyahu initiated low-level talks with the NRP this week, but so far, nothing has come of them. NRP leader Zevulun Orlev said he had not received an offer of a merger with the Likud, but that he would be happy to consider such an option.
Netanyahu would have to obtain the consent of his party's 3,000-member Central Committee for the joint election run. Observers feel this would not be an easy task, as many Kadima supporters still remain in the Likud. A Likud-NRP merger would likely bite into Kadima support.
Talk of a possible merger between the Likud and the Yisrael Beiteinu party has also been heard, but this does not appear to be a realistic possibility at present. Yisrael Beiteinu is headed by Avigdor Lieberman, a former top aide of Netanyahu. Lieberman said this morning that his party is doing well on its own, and that he sees no need to unite with any other party.
Yisrael Beiteinu is a right-wing party that beckons to new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. It recently attracted to its ranks MK Yigal Yasinov, a refugee from the splintered Shinui Party. Yasinov was one of two of Shinui's original 15 MKs who leaned towards the right on Land of Israel and Palestinian Authority-related issues. Lieberman was happy to receive Yasinov's Knesset allotment of over a million shekels of campaign funding money.
The NRP and National Union have also long talked of a possible merger, but the initiative has been stalled for weeks. Orlev hinted that the deal might be finalized after all by this Tuesday, the deadline for submitting lists of Knesset candidates.
Pinchas Wallerstein, one of the heads of the Yesha Council, told Arutz-7 today that he would welcome any move that would strengthen the nationalist camp and weaken Kadima.
Polls released today show Kadima receiving 37-43 Knesset seats, Labor 16-21, and Likud - 13-16. The NRP is on the brink of not receiving enough votes to enter the Knesset.
Netanyahu would have to obtain the consent of his party's 3,000-member Central Committee for the joint election run. Observers feel this would not be an easy task, as many Kadima supporters still remain in the Likud. A Likud-NRP merger would likely bite into Kadima support.
Talk of a possible merger between the Likud and the Yisrael Beiteinu party has also been heard, but this does not appear to be a realistic possibility at present. Yisrael Beiteinu is headed by Avigdor Lieberman, a former top aide of Netanyahu. Lieberman said this morning that his party is doing well on its own, and that he sees no need to unite with any other party.
Yisrael Beiteinu is a right-wing party that beckons to new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. It recently attracted to its ranks MK Yigal Yasinov, a refugee from the splintered Shinui Party. Yasinov was one of two of Shinui's original 15 MKs who leaned towards the right on Land of Israel and Palestinian Authority-related issues. Lieberman was happy to receive Yasinov's Knesset allotment of over a million shekels of campaign funding money.
The NRP and National Union have also long talked of a possible merger, but the initiative has been stalled for weeks. Orlev hinted that the deal might be finalized after all by this Tuesday, the deadline for submitting lists of Knesset candidates.
Pinchas Wallerstein, one of the heads of the Yesha Council, told Arutz-7 today that he would welcome any move that would strengthen the nationalist camp and weaken Kadima.
Polls released today show Kadima receiving 37-43 Knesset seats, Labor 16-21, and Likud - 13-16. The NRP is on the brink of not receiving enough votes to enter the Knesset.