גבי אשכנזי בהשקת "כחול לבן"

The Blue and White party, headed by Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid and Gabi Ashkenazi, convened on Thursday evening at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds for the launch of the party’s election campaign for the 21st Knesset.

Former IDF Chief of Staff Ashkenazi said at the start of the event, "I hope that this train will stop at one place, at the residence of the President. I can guess who he wants to see there."

The comments appeared to hint that President Reuven Rivlin would prefer to see a government headed by Blue and White than by the Likud and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The President’s Residence later issued a statement saying it “would like to distance itself from the discussions regarding the president’s decisions after the results of the elections.”

“The president will act according to the election results and the consultations he will hold, just as every president over the years has done,” stressed the statement.

Earlier, Netanyahu discussed the union between Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz.

"We are facing a difficult election campaign. The left is uniting and will enjoy constant media support and propaganda until the elections. We know that if we do not bring all the people to the polls, there is a danger here," Netanyahu said at the Likud secretariat. "I do not need to exaggerate words - a great danger."