The party borrowed many of its themes from The Third Way, a group that split with the Labor Party in 1994 over the latter's willingness to negotiate the return of the Golan Heights to Syria for a peace treaty. However, by 1999 The Third Way was a partner of the Likud government and had lost public support due to its lack of influence on Netanyahu. Mordechai wanted further progress in the Oslo Accords, and clashed with the prime minister and other members of his cabinet.