'Without Meretz, Herzog has no chance to be PM,' party head says

Gal-On said that for Herzog to have any chance of forming the next coalition, the center-left bloc will need to bolster its strength.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On presenting the party's diplomatic platform (photo credit: MERETZ)
Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On presenting the party's diplomatic platform
(photo credit: MERETZ)
Meretz is in danger of failing to attract the minimum number of votes needed to be in the next Knesset, a development that would effectively end any hopes of Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the left-wing party said on Saturday.
During an appearance before a town hall meeting in Holon, Zehava Gal- On urged traditional Meretz supporters who are thinking of casting their ballot for the Zionist Union to reconsider.
“Meretz will endorse Herzog, so we are calling on our constituents to vote Meretz,” she said.
“Because the minimum threshold has been raised for this election, a truncated Meretz, or no Meretz, will preclude Herzog from becoming prime minister and four Knesset seats will go down the drain.”
Gal-On said that for Herzog to have any chance of forming the next coalition, the Center- Left bloc will need to bolster its strength.
“The big test of these elections is what kind of society will we have here,” Gal-On said. “If there is no Meretz, there will be no Left in Israel.”
The latest public opinion polls show that Meretz conceivably could miss the cut entirely.
Since four is the minimum number of seats that could be allotted to a party, Meretz officials are worried that their faction, which has been hovering near five in the latest surveys, could disappear altogether.