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Benny Gantz, the leader of Israel’s centrist Blue and White Party and the minister of defence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s caretaker coalition government, issued the understatement of the new year when he said, “Truth be told, the reality is difficult right now.”
With several key Blue and White Knesset members leaving the party and with the latest polls forecasting it may not win even a single parliamentary seat in the forthcoming election, Gantz should be worried. Very worried.
Shay did not indicate if he was joining another party or leaving politics.
Recent opinion polls show Blue and White hovering near the electoral threshold. Gantz entered politics two years ago, vowing to replace Netanyahu, merged his nascent Israel Resilience party with Yesh Atid to form Blue and White, and narrowly failed in three elections to form a coalition without Netanyahu’s Likud.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz seen at the Israeli parliament on November 10, 2020. (Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)
While Gantz campaigned on the promise that he would not sit in a government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so long as the prime minister faces corruption charges, he agreed to do just that in late March 2020, and formed a unity government with Netanyahu in May. Furious, Yesh Atid and a second minor faction (Moshe Ya’alon’s Telem) broke away from Blue and White and went into the opposition. Blue and White has watched its popularity plummet since, leading to a hemorrhaging of lawmake
Izhar Shay poses at the Knesset, on April 29, 2019 (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
Science and Technology Minister Izhar Shay and MK Ram Shefa on Thursday announced they were leaving Blue and White, becoming the sixth and seventh lawmakers to exit the crumbling party in the runup to March elections.
Blue and White, which has 14 MKs in the outgoing coalition, has seen an exodus of lawmakers since the Knesset dissolved last week over the failure to pass a new budget, with the party flailing in the polls and leader Defense Minister Benny Gantz facing questions over his captaincy.
In a message sent to the party’s lawmakers, Shefa wrote, “We did not manage to bridge the deep gaps in outlook.”
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Science and Technology Minister Izhar Shay informs Blue and White leader Benny Gantz he’s leaving the party, becoming the seventh member of the centrist list to jump ship.
Shay thanks Gantz, and says: “I admire Benny, respect him very much and wish for Israel to have more leaders like him with modesty, honesty, personal example, and unconditional sacrifice for the good of the state.”
Izhar Shay poses at the Knesset, on April 29, 2019 (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90) I m proud to work at The Times of Israel
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