MK Daniel Ben-Simon (Labor) called Saturday on the leaders of the Center-Left
parties to unite around one candidate for prime minister before January’s
elections.
“I cannot imagine that, on an issue so central and crucial, we
cannot reach an agreement on the candidate to lead the Center-Left,” Ben-Simon
said, speaking at a cultural event at the South Sharon Regional Council
headquarters.
“The public expects to see us act for the greater good, and
we shall stand by this expectation,” he added.
As for the speculation
that Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon (Likud) may head his own party, Ben-
Simon said: “Kahlon is a symptom of the anti-social policies that spread in the
Likud leadership under Binyamin Netanyahu.”
He added: “The departure of
such an icon from the Likud symbolizes the profound crisis of a party losing its
way. Now it is clearer than ever that the long reign of the Likud is soon to be
over – whether Kahlon establishes a new party or not.”
Meretz chairwoman
Zehava Gal-on has also called on the Center parties to form a united front to
“protect democracy” from the newly united Likud-Yisrael Beytenu electoral
list.
“Leaders of Center-Left parties should pledge to Israeli citizens
that they will join hands and stop the creation of the ‘Biberman’ party, which
poses a real threat to the democracy and future of Israel,” Gal-on
said.
A new Netanyahu-Liberman government, she said, would open war on
two fronts: “One on Iran and another on democracy.”
Therefore, Gal-on
continued, the coming election is about fighting for civil rights and the nature
of Israeli democracy. “Yesterday, that was turned into the central election
issue,” she said.
A recent poll conducted for Israel Radio reported that
Labor party chairwoman Shelly Yacimovich would beat all possible Center-Left
leadership rivals by a large margin.
The poll put Yacimovich far ahead of
former prime minister Ehud Olmert, former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, Kadima
chairman Shaul Mofaz and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid.