In Israel, battle for Labor leadership gets dirty
As the Israeli Labor Party prepares to chose its next leader, centrist leader Yair Lapid has already positioned himself as the front-runner against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the next elections.
The Israeli Labor Party has the reputation of eating its own. Nevertheless, last week will go down in the party's annals as one of the strangest in its history. It is not just because of the unusually high number of candidates (nine) for the party's leadership, who can't seem to stop squabbling among themselves. It is mainly because of the pitiable quality of their disputes.
The first round in these primaries are scheduled to take place July 4. It is almost certain to be followed by a second round. Given the number of candidates alone, it seems unlikely that any one of them can pass the threshold needed to win (40% of all votes cast) in the first round.
While the newly elected chairman will lead Labor in the next election, the chances of Labor becoming an alternative to the Likud government are slim. Ever since the last election in 2015, the party has lost almost half of its strength, most of it to Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid. It — or rather the Zionist Camp, in which Labor is the major partner — is now expected to win about 12 seats.
Until just a few months ago, traditional Labor voters still hoped that one of two former chiefs of staff — Gabi Ashkenazi or Benny Gantz — would join the party and lead it back to power. But neither of them found the party attractive enough, leaving Labor with an internal campaign that does not bode well for it.
