Unity Party leader Gilad Erdan announces withdrawal from election race

Unity Party chairman Gilad Erdan suspends his campaign, citing weak polling and failed efforts to join forces with other parties.Follow us on GoogleFormer UN ambassador Gilad Erdan at a press conference in Tel Aviv announcing the establishment of a new right-wing party under his and MK Yuli Edelstein's leadership ahead of the upcoming general elections, August 6, 2026.(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 17:57Updated: SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 18:50Unity Party chairman and former ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan announced he is withdrawing from Israel's 2026 election race on Friday.In a statement, Erdan said the party had little likelihood of crossing the electoral threshold and that efforts to form mergers with other parties had failed to materialize, leading him to suspend the campaign.“Despite the many efforts we made, the support for the Unity Party I established so far does not provide a high likelihood of crossing the electoral threshold, and the possibilities of joining with additional parties in the unity bloc are also not materializing,” Erdan said. "Therefore, I have decided that the Unity Party will not run in the upcoming election.”Erdan said he believes voters are primarily focused on determining who will become prime minister rather than on his party’s platform of establishing a broad unity government.“Unfortunately, after about a month of campaigning, reality shows that in the upcoming election, a large majority of the public is seeking above all a clear decision on the question of who will be prime minister, and the need for a broad unity government is not high on citizens' list of priorities,” Erdan said.Former ambassador and minister Gilad Erdan and Knesset Member Yuli Edelstein, both formerly of Likud, are leading the new Unity Party. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)Merger talks between Unity, Blue and White failThe statement comes following N12 News’ Friday report that talks for a potential merger between Unity and the Blue and White party had failed.Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot commended Erdan’s decision to suspend his party’s campaign, calling it a “responsible and leadership-driven decision” that would increase the chances of replacing the October 7 government and establishing a broad Zionist government that would bring healing and recovery to Israel.Eisenkot called on other parties struggling to cross the electoral threshold to make similar decisions, saying, “Any party that is hovering around the electoral threshold should act with the same responsibility and put the good of Israel ahead of any other consideration.”Follow us on Google