Naftali Bennett, the leader of a center-right party and of the liberal bloc as a whole, and Yair Lapid, the leader of a centrist party, agreed to merge their parties, at least for the upcoming election. Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of another centrist party, has declined to join this union for now, which surprises me since he's the one who originally proposed it. Bennett and Lapid hope that he'll change his mind later, and I personally think that he will.
If that happens, it would reduce the liberal bloc to three parties, excluding those unlikely to enter parliament: Together (the aforementioned union), Yisrael Beiteinu (a right-wing secularist party), and the Democrats (a center-left party). They remain unlikely to win a majority on their own, and will probably need support from Ra'am, an Arab party that was also a part of their previous coalition. Unfortunately, the rising nationalism stoked by the Gaza war makes centrists and conservatives in Israel much more reluctant to cooperate with Arab parties.
The practical consequences of this merger are unclear. The Democrats might pick up some of Lapid's voters who dislike Bennett, and Likud (Netanyahu's party) might pick up some of Bennett's voters who dislike Lapid. On the other hand, together they would become the biggest party, which might convince some undecided voters to "support the winning team".
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/24/janet-mills-vetoes-temporary-data-center-ban-2/
Maine Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill that would create a moratorium for data centers until 2027, which had a lot of support from legislators.
I'm tired of her centrist bullshit. We want a fighter in the Senate, not whatever this is.
News from Israel:
Naftali Bennett, the leader of a center-right party and of the liberal bloc as a whole, and Yair Lapid, the leader of a centrist party, agreed to merge their parties, at least for the upcoming election. Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of another centrist party, has declined to join this union for now, which surprises me since he's the one who originally proposed it. Bennett and Lapid hope that he'll change his mind later, and I personally think that he will.
If that happens, it would reduce the liberal bloc to three parties, excluding those unlikely to enter parliament: Together (the aforementioned union), Yisrael Beiteinu (a right-wing secularist party), and the Democrats (a center-left party). They remain unlikely to win a majority on their own, and will probably need support from Ra'am, an Arab party that was also a part of their previous coalition. Unfortunately, the rising nationalism stoked by the Gaza war makes centrists and conservatives in Israel much more reluctant to cooperate with Arab parties.
The practical consequences of this merger are unclear. The Democrats might pick up some of Lapid's voters who dislike Bennett, and Likud (Netanyahu's party) might pick up some of Bennett's voters who dislike Lapid. On the other hand, together they would become the biggest party, which might convince some undecided voters to "support the winning team".