MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid) on Friday expressed support for the chairman of his party, Yair Lapid, after MK Ofer Shelah declared his intention to unseat Lapid as leader of Yesh Atid.
"I think the person who should lead Yesh Atid in the upcoming elections is Yair Lapid. If there is a referendum within the party, that is what I will say," Stern said in an interview on the Ofira & Berkovic program, which airs on Channel 12.
"I think Ofer's demand is a very legitimate demand and it's not a new thing either. Ofer is a great guy, but if we have to decide who leads us in the upcoming elections, I think it should be Yair Lapid. After the upcoming elections, there will be room for more democracy in Yesh Atid," he continued.
Asked if he thought Shelah’s move was unnecessary, Stern replied, "I think it is, we would have gotten to that point anyway."
Stern added, "In Yesh Atid, there are religious and secular people, right-wingers and left-wingers. I came to Yesh Atid more from the right side, Ofer more from the left side and we all get along together."
Earlier this week, Shelah called for Yesh Atid to hold primaries to determine the next leader of the party, while noting that "the party is not registered in [Lapid's] name."
On Thursday, a poll published on Radio 103FM found that Lapid does not have much to fear if he holds primaries for his party's leadership.
The poll, which was conducted by the Maagar Mochot Institute, found that 61% of Yesh Atid voters would still support Lapid if primaries were held today, compared to just 11% who would support Shelah.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)