Michaeli accepts responsibility for the state of the party and will also not stand for Knesset on the Labor party list in the next elections.
Labor party chairperson MK Merav Michaeli announced this morning at a hastily arranged press conference that she would step down as Labor party leader and would not seek re-election to the next Knesset on the party’s list.
“I am convinced that there will be elections in Israel in 2024,” she said. “I plan brining forward the primaries for the Labor party and they will take place in four months, in the hope that the war will have ended and the hostages will have been returned. If the elections are earlier we will bring forward the primaries accordingly.
“As the person who stood at the head of the party, I am responsible for the situation of the party today, and I do not plan to stand in the primaries or for a place on the next Knesset list. I will be here to do everything to hand over the helm of leadership for the sake of rebuilding the party.”
In recent months, all polls have indicated that in the next election the Labor party will not reach the required percentage threshold for representation in the Knesset. Michaeli’s Labor party colleagues have frequently criticized her conduct, and some have even called openly for her to resign.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on December 7, 2023.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.
Merav Michaeli credit: Yoav Dudkovich Yediot Ahronot