Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon has been a parliamentarian for 16 years (except for a two-year hiatus) providing her sufficient time to take a sober, reasoned, retrospective look at the ever-changing Israeli politics. As someone who has known her for years, I can say that she is one of the most active, energetic, and outspoken lawmakers in the Knesset. She is not always popular among her right-wing colleagues. At times, she even manages to infuriate them with her comments, sparking heated debates; but even her most ardent detractors have to acknowledge that, to her credit, Galon always says what is on her mind, even when her opinion is unpopular. When she was first elected to the Knesset in 1999, Meretz was a respectable faction numbering 10 MKs. Seven years earlier, in 1992, the left-wing party reached an all-time high of 12 Knesset seats. But its power has since dwindled significantly. In 2003, during the 16th Knesset, Meretz boasted just six mandates. In the next election, in 2006, it won only five Knesset seats. In 2009, it dropped to a measly three seats. The year after she was elected party leader, Galon managed to double the number of seats. In 2006, six years before becoming Meretz chairwoman, Galon told Haaretz: "I see myself as a marathon runner. People appreciate those who fight, and not those who capitulate or try to be a nice guy or try to gain favor in people's eyes. My positions are respected even when people don't agree with them." 'Stop lying to the public' In recent weeks, polls have shown a dip in support for Meretz. Unlike the initial weeks that followed the dissolution of the 19th Knesset and the announcement of early elections, when surveys indicated the party could win as many as 10 seats, pollsters learned this week that the best-case scenario for Meretz would spell five seats. Some estimated Meretz may not even be able to even garner enough votes to stay in the Knesset. These projections are disconcerting for Galon, who implored party activists to head out into the field this week, with the elections winding down, pushing the slogan, "We can't give up on Meretz -- it depends only on you." The party also produced a song, "The Wake-Up Song," written and composed by Yami Wissler. The song seeks to play on Meretz voters' heartstrings by featuring stalwart supporters like Liora Rivlin, Rivka Michaeli and Yeheli Sobol. Asked whether she was concerned that Meretz may fail to pass the electoral threshold, Galon said, "The concern is certainly real. It is based on what happened in the 2009 elections, when the 'It's either Tzipi or Bibi' slogan caught on, and as a result many Meretz supporters bought this spin, which said that the president will tap the leader of the largest party to form the government, and not the individual who garners the most endorsements. So they voted for [Tzipi] Livni, and we were left with just three Knesset seats. "Ultimately, Livni, who received 28 seats, failed to form a government, while Netanyahu, who won 27 seats, did. Unfortunately, this spin is once again rearing its ugly head in the current election campaign, so I am calling on the public not to allow [the country] to lose Meretz. It's important for us to have a strong, large Meretz in the Knesset." Q: On the other hand, your party was reported to have made quite an impressive showing in the college campus mock elections. You won 19 seats. "This is true. That is why I have mixed feelings. I've been traveling around quite a bit, and I see quite a large number of people at conferences and in universities who want to vote Meretz. Unfortunately, there are many Meretz voters who have bought into the propaganda put out by Zionist Union, which is really deceptive in claiming that if it becomes the largest party then the president will give [Labor leader] Isaac Herzog the task of forming the coalition. "The polling we did found that the main reason voters are considering not casting their ballots for Meretz and supporting the Zionist Union instead is to bring about [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's downfall, but I say that if those who support us don't vote Meretz, it will disappear. If we won't be in the Knesset, that means that the [center-left] bloc loses four or five seats and Herzog won't be prime minister. So a vote for Meretz is a strategic vote." Q: Why do you think Meretz has dipped in the polls in recent months- "There is no doubt that Herzog and Livni's decision to run on a joint ticket in this campaign hurt us. Our constituency doesn't have the luxury of supporting Meretz by voting Herzog, because in that case we'd be left with no Meretz. What is really astounding is the fact that in all the polls Meretz is the party that leads the way in socio-economic legislation as well as in protecting gay rights. We are also the most transparent party, and we are the party that does more than any other party when it comes to animal rights, social justice, and opposing the occupation. Whoever believes in Meretz knows that we will continue to work toward those same goals, because we are a party with values and an ideology." Q: Perhaps Meretz has been undermined by the fact that the Zionist Union has become more dovish. What were the factors that blurred the lines between Labor and Meretz- "I don't think that the Zionist Union's platform is dovish, even if the list does include individuals who advocate a politically dovish philosophy. I heard Livni and Amos Yadlin say that there is no Palestinian partner, and that any agreement with the Palestinians would not include a compromise on Jerusalem. If that is their position, then what differentiates them from Likud- "On the other hand, we state our position as clearly as can possibly be. We are the only party that works for a more just society, which cannot exist while being governed by a corrupt economy and while maintaining an occupation that controls another nation. We are the only ones that believe that the struggle for a diplomatic solution is part and parcel of the struggle for socioeconomic and democratic justice." Q: Did you err during this campaign by attacking Netanyahu and the Likud instead of going after Livni and Herzog- "Our criticism was aimed at both Netanyahu and the Zionist Union. We took aim at Netanyahu because he pays lip service whenever he speaks of a two-state solution, and in the same breath approves the expansion of settlements and transfers funds to them. We obviously criticized him quite harshly for his decision to address the U.S. Congress, a decision which hurt our relations with President Barack Obama and the United States. "As for the Zionist Union, we certainly criticized them, pointing out that their diplomatic platform is at best one that allows for the possibility of negotiations between Herzog and Livni, and that they need to stop lying to the public, and say that without a compromise on Jerusalem and a return to the 1967 lines with land swaps, there won't be any peace deal." Q: Was it a mistake for Meretz not to merge with Zionist Union? Then you most certainly would be the largest party in the Knesset. "I spoke with Herzog about the possibility of running on a joint ticket, but we determined it would not help the center-left bloc. In 2013, the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu ran on one ticket, but it didn't really help Netanyahu, and they ended up with just 31 seats, which is less than what they expected. "Mergers between parties don't necessarily boost their position. As President [Reuven] Rivlin noted, there is no importance to how big the largest party is, since he intends to assign the task of forming a government to the individual who has the best chance of forming a government. By the way, no other party except for Meretz has announced that it will endorse Herzog for the premiership, so whoever votes for Meretz votes twice, both for Herzog as prime minister and for Meretz to stay in the Knesset." Q: Perhaps Meretz's problem is that most Jewish Israelis have moved closer to the political center because they don't believe in the possibility of reaching a deal with the Palestinians. "I don't think so. It's a fact that over 70 percent of the population supports a diplomatic compromise, and there is a willingness to pay the price. Unfortunately, we've been saddled with a whiny leadership that lacked a genuine desire to reach an agreement. The failure in the efforts to reach a settlement contributed to the wider sense among the general public that there is no partner and that the Palestinians don't want an agreement. "Netanyahu didn't have the courage, and he was even ready to clash head-on with the Obama administration over this issue. If he would only speak of the need to reach a territorial compromise, the public would've supported him, but he never really intended for this. We believe that it's important to reach an agreement, despite the fact that it obviously won't be easy." 'Our partnership with the Arabs was a disappointment' Q: Perhaps the drop in the polls has to do with the fact that there's no "new blood" on your Knesset list? Your list is unchanged. "I don't accept this argument. Labor also doesn't have any new names. We have a very multifaceted list of candidates. Are young female MKs like Tamar Zandberg and Michal Rozin, who were elected to parliament for the first time in 2013 and who achieved great things in less than two years, undeserving of another chance? We will continue to fight the crony capitalism, inequality, the wealth disparity, and the occupation regime." Q: The Joint Arab List refused to sign an agreement with you that would arrange for a sharing of excess votes because Meretz is a Zionist party. That was quite a slap in the face. "This decision saddened me, and it proved to me that they failed in the ultimate test of partnership despite the statements that were made recently. In the moment of truth, they allowed their nationalist underpinnings to divert them from a path of partnership to one of isolationism. It was quite saddening to discover that they see us as a threat." Q: How did this idea come to pass and why didn't the more moderate elements on the Joint Arab List make more of an effort to enable the deal- "It was Herzog's idea initially. He asked me if I would be willing to sign an excess vote agreement with the Joint Arab List. I agreed, even though there were some people in our party who were not comfortable signing an agreement with a list of candidates that included an Islamic element. But we agreed because of the concern that if we didn't do it, we could lose two Knesset seats. "Aiman Ouda, Dov Henin, and others made a great effort to convince the naysayers, but at the end of the day Balad vetoed the deal. This was very sad, because we are partners in the struggle against anti-democratic legislation, and I see partnership with the Arabs as an important value." Q: Will this episode have any impact on future cooperation between Meretz and the Joint Arab List- "I don't deal in the future, and we want cooperation, but we have recently seen Joint Arab List posts denouncing MK Issawi Frej, who is third on our list, saying a vote for Frej is tantamount to a vote for Ayoob Kara from the Likud." Q: There is a perception that Meretz is not sufficiently active in courting the immigrant vote. How could it be that you, of all people, who immigrated to this country as a young girl from the Soviet Union, don't have the urge to enlist support from among olim- "We are certainly active in drumming up immigrant support. It's true that there are few olim who vote for us, and most who do are young people who see Meretz as their home for political activism." Q: If Herzog wins the election and Rivlin tasks him with forming the coalition, will you join his government or will you refuse to be in a coalition with Yisrael Beytenu, and the ultra-Orthodox Shas and Yahad parties- "I am hopeful that there will be a new prime minister, and I believe that Herzog has the tools to be an excellent prime minister. I don't rule out any party, and we will certainly be in a government with Yesh Atid and Kulanu as well as the haredi parties, but we will not agree to serve in a government with a racist like [Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor] Lieberman. I believe that it is possible to form a coalition that rests on the support of the left-center bloc."
