Incumbent Israeli Labor chief Merav Michaeli scored a landslide victory yesterday in the party’s leadership primaries, coming out with 82.48% of the votes versus mere 16.6% for her rival Eran Hermoni. It was the first time a sitting Labor chief has been reelected in 30 years, ever since the party started holding open primaries. On Aug. 9, the party is scheduled to hold primaries for its Knesset list ahead of the Nov. 1 general elections.
While Michaeli’s victory did not come as a surprise, it presented an important achievement for her, reasserting not only her leadership of her party, but also her status within the center-left political camp. Her reelection makes for a refreshing change in a party known for turning against its own leaders, as Michaeli’s predecessors Amir Peretz, Shelly Yachimovich, Avi Gabbay and even Israel’s President Isaac Herzog can testify.
