Since last Tuesday [Jan. 22] Knesset Member Binyamin (Fouad) Ben-Eliezer has been going around feeling deeply disappointed over the missed opportunity.

The most veteran among Labor’s Knesset Members, who at 77 is as sharp as ever — his political instincts, for which he is famous, finely honed, more than ever before — was certain that this time around Labor could lead to a revolution. Alas, he could only grit his teeth in frustration as he was watching how Labor party leader Shelly Yachimovich was single-handedly missing the opportunity and arriving at the finish line of the election campaign with a mere 15 mandates.

Ben-Eliezer is all the more disappointed since he saw it all happening right in front of him, but as in a Greek tragedy, could do nothing to change the picture. On election day at noon, when the voting picture became vague due to the relatively high voter turnout, I called Ben-Eliezer. If anyone can decipher voting trends just by touring the polling centers and sensing the mood, Ben-Eliezer is the man.

“It is just like it was in 1999 [when Ehud Barak won the election in a landslide],” Ben-Eliezer noted, clearly exulted. “The center-left voters are flocking to the ballot box, but we are not going to reap the fruits.”