Knesset members from the Zionist Union on Monday evening blasted party chairman MK Yitzhak Herzog, after a Channel 2 News poll found that the party would suffer a collapse if elections were held today, and that most of the Israeli public is against a unity government.
The criticism also came amid reports that talks between Herzog and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a unity government were picking up steam, though no breakthrough has yet been achieved.
MK Erel Margalit responded to the poll and called on Herzog to immediately stop the negotiations with Netanyahu.
“The crawling to Netanyahu must stop tonight before we have more meetings with Netanyahu than voters," said Margalit. "The Labor party will go back to being an alternative when it starts to be a fighting opposition and not a coalition party."
MK Yoel Hasson also reacted to the poll, saying it showed that the center-left parties must unite against Netanyahu instead of joining his coalition.
"We must learn from the poll that if the center-left parties do not give up on their egos and join a broad democratic bloc led by the Zionist Union, we will not be able to beat the radical-messianic camp led by Netanyahu and Bennett," Hasson charged, according to Channel 2 News.
"One more or one less seat for the Zionist Union or to Yesh Atid will not change anything," said Hasson. "The real goal is to move seats from the messianic right bloc to the democratic centrist bloc, and thereby return Israel to a sane and true path."