Political analysts continue to parse the exit polls and raw data from election night, with Aviv Bushinsky, former communications adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, offering a definitive assessment of the emerging balance of power and the options for forming the next government.
Speaking on 103fm with Gideon Oku and Amichai Atali, he stated, "I don't see any other scenario, Netanyahu effectively won the election, in terms of the number of people who supported him."
The data, he said, show a significant increase in Likud's electoral strength compared to the previous election cycle: "If the threshold for a mandate is roughly 45,000 votes and he currently has about 27 mandates, that's already a hundred thousand more votes than in 2022. That means Likud received more votes after October 7 than it did before October 7."
"They'll have no choice but to dance to his tune"
He addressed the balance of power vis-à-vis the heads of the change bloc, arguing that Netanyahu now holds all the cards heading into coalition talks: "All of this essentially leads to a situation where Netanyahu can tell all the players on the political map, you want in? Join on my terms. Don't want to? We'll go to elections."
