The battle for the Transportation Ministry heats up: Who will take the wheel?

The article reviews the political struggle over the transportation portfolio ahead of the elections, presenting the leading candidates: Miri Regev who aspires to stay, Keren Turner who wants to return, and Moshe Redman who is identified with the field. The article emphasizes the ministry's budgetary power, the challenges of traffic jams and road accidents, and the gap between promises and reality.

The article reviews the political struggle over the transportation portfolio ahead of the elections for the 26th Knesset, presenting the leading candidates and the significant challenges facing the ministry. Outgoing Transportation Minister Miri Regev makes it clear that she wants to remain in the role, and even stated in June that she is not interested in the defense portfolio. Keren Turner, former director general of the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Finance, joined Naftali Bennett's party and expresses interest in the position. Moshe Redman, in ninth place on the Democrats' list, is identified with the field but has not declared his intention to run for the portfolio. The article highlights the budgetary power of the Ministry of Transportation, which controls about 85% of the state's infrastructure budgets. The development budget for 2026 alone stands at about 44.9 billion shekels, and projects like the Gush Dan metro, the light rail, and the eastern railway reach tens of billions. Alongside this, the article notes a sharp increase in public transportation prices, approaching about 9 shekels per ride, some of the worst traffic jams in the world, and a record number of road fatalities last year. The article points to significant gaps between political promises and reality on the ground, including delays in implementing structural reforms like congestion charges and metropolitan transportation authorities. It notes that despite declarations about enforcement and safety reforms, a large part of the measures have not yet been fully implemented.