Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah, a longtime friend and colleague of Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, declared his intention last week to challenge Lapid for the leadership of the party, demanding that party primaries be scheduled as soon as possible.

Lapid, the undisputed chairman of Yesh Atid to date, promised at the party’s formation in 2012 that primaries would be held but the date has been repeatedly pushed off.

Shelah claims that Yesh Atid will not be viewed as an alternative to the current government before the next elections with Lapid at its helm, criticizing Lapid for not presenting a clear agenda on issues of the economy, security and politics.

In an interview on Reshet Bet on Sunday morning, Shelah said that polls show that “in the current situation, Yesh Atid led by Yair Lapid will not be successful as a government alternative. Lapid promised himself the leadership of the party until the 26th Knesset during a process that no one was aware of. His argument against holding primaries for the leadership of the party, as if there’s an inherent risk of corruption in doing so, is irrelevant.”

Lapid said on Thursday, also in an interview with Reshet Bet: “We’re worried about primaries, they destroyed parties like Labor. To this day, primaries have corrupted Israeli politics.”

However, Lapid said that he would remain in the party if primaries were held and Shelah was elected as chairman instead of him.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)