The election is still more than a month away, and it remains unclear whether the opposition-aligned change bloc will secure a victory, but the Democrats party is already preparing for potential coalition negotiations after the vote.
According to Walla, a team within Yair Golan’s party is developing the party’s list of demands for coalition talks and potential coalition agreements if a change bloc government is formed.
Golan and his associates remain focused primarily on the election campaign and efforts to increase the party’s representation in the Knesset. At the same time, however, the party has begun preparing for the possibility of entering government. The goal is to enter coalition negotiations with a detailed set of demands, rather than simply negotiate the division of ministerial portfolios after the election.
The preparations are also driven by concerns within the party that even if the change bloc wins, the next government could include parties whose leaders, including Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman, differ significantly from Golan on a range of ideological issues. The Democrats want to ensure that in such a scenario they do not become a marginal force within the coalition, but instead maintain enough influence to shape government policy.
Democrats learning from previous change government
The party is also drawing lessons from the political experience of the previous change government. Democrats officials view that government as an example in which the coalition’s right-wing members had a stronger influence over its direction and policies, while Meretz, which held the Health Ministry under Nitzan Horowitz among other portfolios, struggled to translate its political strength into significant influence over the government’s agenda and public debate.
This time, Golan and his associates want to be better prepared. As part of the team’s work, the party is formulating several key demands it plans to raise during coalition negotiations, particularly on issues related to democracy, the rule of law, and the judicial system.
The party’s goal is not to settle for general commitments in coalition guidelines, but to secure specific promises and practical steps that would limit the government’s ability to act on issues the Democrats consider fundamental.
Alongside these ideological demands, the party is also preparing a list of ministries it will seek during coalition talks. Golan has previously identified several key portfolios that the Democrats are interested in, including Defense, Justice, Education, National Security, and Communications.
Party developing policy demands
As part of its preparations, the party is developing policy demands and concrete steps it would seek to advance through each ministry. The aim is to prevent a situation in which the Democrats receive senior government positions but lack the ability to influence the government’s broader direction.
A party source told Walla: “We will not be excess baggage. They will not throw us a portfolio and say, ‘Take it and be grateful.’ We want to influence and lead, to advance the agendas for which we were elected. The goal is not only to be partners in the next government, but to be a force that influences its direction and leads it.”