Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is recalibrating his campaign message ahead of the next elections, seeking to shore up support as his party struggles in opinion polls.
The shift comes amid growing pressure over the party’s future and reports that MK Chili Tropper, Gantz’s closest ally, is considering stepping aside if Blue and White appears unlikely to pass the electoral threshold. Party officials say Gantz is working to halt internal erosion and resist calls for him to withdraw from the race.
Despite polling weakness, Gantz has moved away from the blanket opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced by much of the anti-Netanyahu bloc, instead drawing a sharper line against what he describes as political extremism.
Speaking in the Knesset plenum and later in a recorded interview, Gantz responded angrily to criticism directed at him since joining Netanyahu’s government during the war.
“We need to stop with the ‘only not Bibi’ approach and move to ‘only not the extremists,’” Gantz said.
Campaign videos released by Blue and White reinforce that message, stressing that Gantz would not support a government that includes Itamar Ben-Gvir or the Islamist Ra’am party. One video warns that another coalition involving Ben-Gvir could eventually lead to his appointment as defense minister — a scenario Gantz says must be prevented.
By ruling out Ra’am, Gantz is also distancing himself from the previous change government, which relied on Arab party support. At the same time, he has reiterated that he would not serve as Netanyahu’s decisive 61st vote, while continuing to call for what he describes as a “broad Zionist government.”
The new positioning has drawn skepticism from across the political spectrum. In Likud, senior figures have dismissed the shift, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar mocked Gantz in a brief social media post, writing: “Good morning, Benny.”
Within Blue and White, some allies have voiced concern over the direction and continue to urge Gantz to unite with other parties or step aside.
Still, party officials say Gantz has no intention of withdrawing at this stage.
“He is constantly assessing the situation and will decide accordingly,” a party source said. “There is still time to see how the public responds before any final decisions are made.”