Lapid resists Golan’s call for merger, arguing it would only assist Netanyahu

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid is pushing back against The Democrats party leader Yair Golan’s call for a center-left merger ahead of the next election, saying that this would only serve to benefit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hebrew media outlets report, citing a statement attributed to officials close to Lapid.

“It’s time for Yair Golan to stop helping Netanyahu with harmful announcements,” the statement says. “He knows he’s harming the chances of winning the election. He has been presented with the polls that prove such a union only makes the bloc smaller and returns voters to Netanyahu. It isn’t clear why he is insisting on making himself the right’s biggest asset just for headlines.”

In turn, a statement attributed to officials close to Golan retorts that “it’s high time for us to stop running after polls and start forming a moral and ideological backbone,” adding that previous elections saw center-left politicians act in accordance with strategists’ analyses and opinion surveys, only to end up losing the vote.