Kahlon announced he would be taking a break from politics, and did not run in the 2013 Knesset elections. In response to reports that he was going to form a new political party, Kahlon announced on 3 November 2013 that he would not. It was subsequently reported that Kahlon would initiate a new party to run in the next Israeli legislative election; possible running-mates were reported to include Yoav Galant and Meir Dagan. In April 2014, after a period of silence, Kahlon announced in an interview with the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" his intention to return to politics "imminently", but that he had not decided on a "framework" for his return; in the same interview, he criticised the socio-economic and diplomatic policies of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding to speculation that he would attempt to run against Netanyahu in the future elections. In 2014, he indeed founded a new political party, the Kulanu party, ahead of the expected March 2015 elections. He announced several new members of his Knesset list: former ambassador to the US Michael Oren, Israel Prize winner Eli Alaluf, Yifat Sasha-Biton, a former deputy mayor of Kiryat Shmona and Deputy Jerusalem Mayor Rachel Azaria.