Degel HaTorah is expected to demand five of the first eight positions on the United Torah Judaism electoral slate, along with priority for MK Uri Maklev over MK Meir Porush for the first senior position allocated after the election, as negotiations with Agudas Yisroel over a joint run get underway.
Representatives of Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisroel are scheduled to hold their first formal negotiating session Wednesday evening as the Chareidi parties begin preparations for the upcoming Knesset elections.
The meeting will take place at Degel HaTorah’s offices in Bnei Brak and will formally launch discussions between the two factions over the terms of another joint electoral run.
At the center of Degel HaTorah’s opening demands is the balance of power within the joint slate. The faction is expected to insist on receiving five of the first eight positions, giving Degel a clear majority among UTJ’s highest-ranked candidates. It will also demand that MK Uri Maklev receive precedence over MK Meir Porush when the first senior position is distributed.
Those demands are expected to become major points of discussion as the factions negotiate both the placement of candidates on the electoral slate and the distribution of positions and political influence following the election.
Agudas Yisroel will be represented in the negotiations by Yisroel Drenager of Ger, who will replace Chanoch Zeibert on the negotiating team. MK Meir Porush will also participate, representing Shlomei Emunim and Belz.
Representing Degel HaTorah will be faction secretary Moshe Schiffman and Bnei Brak Deputy Mayor Menachem Shapira, who also heads Degel HaTorah’s municipal division.
Wednesday evening’s meeting was expected to be only the beginning of negotiations between the longtime political partners. Among the central issues on the table will be whether and under what terms the factions continue running together, the makeup and order of the joint list, and how senior positions and political power will be divided ahead of the elections.
{Matzav.com}
