He is 0-for-4.

With just three and a half weeks to go, critics say Blue and White’s strategy is indecipherable and its message a muddle, its top four candidates are garnering headlines mainly over embarrassing leaks and infighting, and Mr. Gantz himself seems averse to the spotlight. A spokeswoman said he was meeting with plenty of voters this week and next, but reporters weren’t welcome to see him in action.

“We’re confused,” said Smadar Schneidman, 61, an interior designer out for a birthday breakfast with her husband in north Tel Aviv, solid Blue and White territory. “Last time, I was a proud Blue and White voter. Now, it’s a bit of a problem. It’s as if Gantz doesn’t want to win.”

When Mr. Gantz does step out, he sometimes sets back his own cause.

Earlier this month, he seemed to open the door to his serving in a Netanyahu-led government despite earlier refusals. (He recanted, saying he had misheard the question.) Then he said that as long as he would be prime minister first, he would be open to taking turns in a rotation with Mr. Netanyahu. (This was sarcastic, he explained afterward.)