The Labor Party, led by chairman and former IDF deputy chief-of-staff Yair Golan, reached a formal agreement on Sunday in which it will unite with Meretz under a single party called “The Democrats.”
The statement made by the merged parties said, “Unlike in the past, this is not a ‘technical bloc,’ but a historic move that finally creates one large and united party, a liberal-democratic Zionist party that will serve as a political home for a large public in Israel.”
The parties added, “The union is a necessary step in building a large and strong democratic base that will lead to the replacement of the extreme right-wing government led by [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The new party will be home for all the forces fighting for democracy and the image of Israel in recent years: Protest organizations… civil society, youth movements… [and] reserve organizations fighting for equal burden.”
In response to the unity agreement, Golan stated, “One of the goals I have set for us is to create connections that will lead to the fulfillment of the camp’s electoral potential. This is a necessary political, public and moral goal.”
Structuring the new party
As per the agreement, the new party’s Knesset list will be chosen through democratic primaries by the parties’ members and new recruits who join. There will be a representation guarantee mechanism ensuring that at least one representative from Meretz will be included up to the 4th place on the list, at least one more representative up to the 8th place, and similarly up to the 12th and 16th places. A similar representation guarantee (25%) will also apply to the new party’s institutions.
This will apply for one election only, after which the new party will operate as one unit.
Furthermore, Meretz’s municipal factions, a significant part of the party’s grassroots strength, will be incorporated into the new party and will also become representative factions of the united party, alongside Labor factions in local authorities. According to the agreement, these representation guarantees are one-time, and each party will bear its debts accordingly. Meretz has a debt estimated at approximately NIS 16 million from previous elections, which it will continue to bear alone.
Meretz and Labor ran separately in the previous election, after former Labor chairwoman MK Merav Michaeli refused a merger. Meretz finished just below the electoral threshold of 3.25% of the general vote, and did not make it into the current Knesset.
The merger, which Golan set as his goal since announcing his candidacy to lead Labor, is a remarkable moment in Israeli political history and a watershed moment for the Israeli Left. It indicates the end of Labor, which is the continuation of the Mapai Party that ruled the country during its first 30 years.
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