In a move that will most likely earn the party additional votes, Labor Party leader Shelly Yacimovich announced on Thursday morning 21 Teves 5773 at a press conference that the party will not enter a coalition headed by the Likud/Beitenu list.
Yacimovich told listeners that it is clear that the policies and goals of a government led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are not in line with the Labor hashkafa and as such, if Labor does not receive sufficient votes to head the next government, the party will head the opposition in the 19th Knesset.
The Labor leader explained that she is determined to remain loyal to the party’s platform, and therefore, joining a Likud-led government coalition is a non-starter, particularly today “with Likud moving right,” mentioning the growing faction headed by Moshe Feiglin. “I respect Likud but I remain loyal to our ideal” she concluded.
Polls show that Yacimovich’s leadership has boosted the party’s popularity, now averaging 19 seats, a dramatic increase from today’s reality of 8 seats. Yacimovich has now decided to send a clear message to supporters, that the party will remain loyal to its social/economic agenda and as such, it will not become a party in a Netanyahu-led coalition government.
The policy statement will most likely result in additional votes at the expense of Yesh Atid of Yair Lapid and The Movement headed by Tzipi Livni.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
or it will result in less votes, due to those voters who want to influence Israeli government policies, which can only be done by those in the coalition — in a parliamentary system, a party that isn’t part of the coalition is totally irrelevant as long as the coalition stays intacts — also based on polls, the government could consist of Likud, Bayit Yehudi and the hareidi parties — which from a left perspective is a continuing nightmare and if major factions such as Labor refuse to consider joining the coalition, Likud has no option but to meet whatever price the religious parties charge
Good riddance! Labor is doing us all a favor by staying out of the government.