When Naftali Bennett announced he was resigning from politics, he handed over the leadership of the Yamina party to his long-time partner Ayelet Shaked.
However, Yamina voters have left the party in droves due to the party’s blatant violation of all its promises and its deviation to the left. Will the change of leadership from Bennett to Shaked make a difference?
A Channel 12 News poll last week showed Yamina winning five seats. However, a Kan News poll carried out on Sunday – after Yair Lapid entered the position of prime minister – showed Yamina winning only four seats, barely crossing the electoral threshold.
It also must be noted that Israeli polls are notoriously inaccurate. In 2019, Yamina failed to pass the electoral threshold, contrary to what the polls predicted, and that was before the party betrayed its voter base.
Former Justice Minister Chaim Ramon scoffed at the poll showing Yamina winning five seats, telling Radio 103FM last week that “Ayelet Shaked is in a desperate political situation.”
“I think that Yamina is a party that essentially doesn’t exist and the big question is where its mandates will go,” he said. “Shaked doesn’t have a base. Who will vote for her?”
A report on Monday seems to confirm Ramon’s view, with Srugim reporting that a group of right-wing supporters intend to launch a campaign against Shaked, entitled: “Ayelet, do you think that we forgot?”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
Yamina, or whatever name it called itself in the day, always polled higher than it got. Shaked isnt stupid. She knows she doesnt have the votes because Bennett betrayed their supporters, she will gain her own fan club but only a vote will tell her if that was enough. Her job now is to keep Kahana from turning Yamina into a Yamina-Yamina (Smola).