BICOM

Less than twenty-four hours after a meeting between the leaders of the three major centrist parties, an attempt to coordinate a united position ahead of this month’s election appears to have collapsed. Labour Party leader Shelly Yachimovich and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid agreed to meet with Hatnuah head Tzipi Livni on Sunday night. They reportedly discussed how to work more closely ahead of the election and whether they could act as one united bloc if approached to join a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although the meeting produced no concrete results, the three leaders expressed willingness to meet again.

However, a statement released yesterday by Yachimovich and Lapid accused Livni of having presented “a false version of what had transpired during the gathering” and described the meeting as “a trick played by Livni, who is desperate in light of the drop in the polls, at the expense of the voters, who hope for change.” In response, Livni charged Yachimovich and Lapid with selfish politicking saying, “Their violent and unnecessary statement unfortunately shows…They are playing a personal game for their own narrow interests instead of supporting the only plan that can give hope to the public.”

Meanwhile, a Channel Ten poll released yesterday indicated that a large number of voters remain undecided about who to vote for. The survey found that 18 per cent of respondents, the equivalent of 24 Knesset seats, have not decided how to cast their ballot on election day, with a further 29 per cent indicating that they could still change their vote before polling. A Times of Israel poll also released yesterday indicated that an even higher number, 31 per cent of likely voters, representing 37 Knesset seats, remain undecided about who to vote for. According to the poll, this undecided bloc is more likely to vote to the centre-left than the right.