Lion was regarded as the candidate of the far-right and was strongly linked to Avigdor Lieberman.

[3] The candidate of Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu[2] (an alliance between the Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Yisrael Beiteinu party led by Lieberman), he was regarded as Lieberman's candidate.

It was believed that Lieberman had hoped that a Lion victory would bolster his chances of potentially challenging Netanyahu's leadership.

[3] Also supporting Lion was Aryeh Deri, the chairman of the Shas party.

[4] Lion did not receive the support of Netanyahu, who formally remained neutral in the race, but was speculated to favor Barkat.