רון חולדאי פיגוע דקירה מחבל ב אוטובוס קו 40 גשר מעריב תל אביב ביה"ח איכילוב
Tel Aviv mayor mulls run in Labor primaries
Ron Huldai announces that he is considering 'tough decision' after 17 years as mayor of Tel Aviv; 'I'm not going to gamble and jump just because I feel like it.'
Tel Aviv mayor of 17 years, Ron Huldai, announced Saturday morning that he's considering running a campaign to replace party leader Isaac Herzog in primaries to take place in May, 2016.
Huldai said that the decision was a difficult one after so long as Tel Aviv's mayor, but according to the popular politician, "I've had many calls from every direction and they tell me that I need to raise my hand. I've heard this and I'm considering and checking the subject."
Huldai, earlier this week. (Photo: Ido Erez)
The mayor added that, "I'm not going to gamble and jump just because I feel like it; for me it's a tough decision. In order to start all over now, after 17 years as mayor... I have to think hard. I'm at the stage where I'm thinking about it."
Huldai said that he would make his decision in the fall in order to have time to jump start an effective campaign in case he does decide to challenge Herzog.
When asked where Labor went wrong in the 2015 elections that resulted in a surprise victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party, Huldai said that Israeli politics were more similar to those in the United States than most people would think.
"In Israel today, there is the 'Republican' camp, which represents the majority and is made up of the Likud, Israeli Beiteinu, Bayit HaYehudi and also Kahlon because Kahlon's origins are in the Likud," said Huldai. "Yesh Atid is separate and falls in with the 'Democrats'. The last elections didn't change anything on the political map, and precisely reflect the elections from two years ago."
