Herzog considering Gabbay’s offer to stay on as opposition leader

Contrary to other media reports, Herzog has not ruled out the offer; the two plan to meet and discuss the matter on Wednesday.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Updated: JULY 12, 2017 01:22
Isaac Herzog (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Isaac Herzog
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) is considering new Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay’s offer for him to remain in his position.
Contrary to some media reports, Herzog has not ruled out the offer, his spokesman said on Tuesday, and the two plan to meet and discuss the matter on Wednesday.
Gabbay cannot be opposition leader, because he is not a member of Knesset.
Gabbay never directly asked Herzog to remain opposition leader, but Gabbay said publicly several times in recent days that he would like Herzog to, including in his Monday-night victory speech.
Meanwhile, prominent Labor activist Eldad Yaniv called for Gabbay to give the job to young, firebrand Zionist Union MK Stav Shaffir, who supported Gabbay in the Labor primary runoff.
Yaniv compared Gabbay’s victory to that of French President Emmanuel Macron, who, like Gabbay, had only briefly held public office before winning.
Unlike Gabbay, however, Macron founded his own party, which went on to win a large number of parliamentary seats.
“The public gave you a Macron-like victory,” Yaniv tweeted. “Now be Macron.
Let’s see you. Good luck. First Macron-like step: Appointing Stav Shaffir as opposition leader.”
However, Gabbay and Shaffir have yet to discuss any party positions, though her spokesman said she is looking forward to working with him “in the strongest, most effective way.”
With 24 Knesset seats, the Zionist Union – made up of Labor and Hatnua (formerly the Tzipi Livni Party) – is the largest faction in the opposition. The law states that an MK from the largest opposition party will be opposition leader, unless most MKs in the opposition vote to choose a different lawmaker.