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  Labor drops Meretz for surplus-vote deal with Lapid
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Last Edited411 Name Removed  Dec 03, 2012 09:20pm
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AuthorJonathan Lis
MediaNewspaper - Ha Aretz
News DateTuesday, December 4, 2012 03:20:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionShelly Yacimovich on Monday took another big step to position the Labor Party as a "centrist" party, signing a surplus-votes agreement with Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party instead of with its traditional partner, the left-wing Meretz.

Sources close to the Labor leader confirmed that the decision to break with Meretz and sign with Lapid was meant not only to "centralize Labor," but also to tag Tzipi Livni's Hatnuah party as leftist.

"Now everybody knows who is really centrist, and who won't have any choice but to join the left bloc. Livni will now have to sign a surplus-votes agreement with Meretz," said a Labor source. The agreement transfers excess votes from one party to another, often enabling it to win another Knesset seat, and are ordinarily signed between parties with similar ideologies.

Lapid has distanced himself from the left throughout the campaign and made no secret of his wish to join the Netanyahu government after the elections.

A disillusioned Labor Party activist sounded bitter yesterday, saying Yacimovich "is going along with the delegitimization of the left." Despite anger among current and form
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