Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Yashar! Party leader Gadi Eisenkot have both surpassed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the question of suitability for prime minister, according to a poll conducted by Lazar Research in cooperation with Panel4All published on Friday.
Nearly half of respondents (46%) believe Bennett is suitable, and 44% stand behind Eisenkot on the matter. However, only 41% of respondents have the same support for Netanyahu.
When Bennett was placed head-to-head against Eisenkot, the results were much closer, with 33% saying Eisenkot would be suitable, compared to 32% who chose Bennett. Another 35% of respondents did not know whom to choose.
Regarding the new Together Party and union between Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid, the whole is still smaller than the sum of its parts. Even though, as expected, the new party is the largest one currently running.
In last week’s poll, conducted before the announcement of the joint party, Bennett and Lapid together held 31 seats. However, the latest poll shows a three-seat drop, leaving the two former prime ministers at 28 seats.
Further, the public is divided on whether Eisenkot should join Together. Approximately 34% think Eisenkot should accept Lapid’s offer and join Together as the new party’s “number 2,” while 30% think he should continue running independently. The largest percentage, at 36%, said they do not know.
Coalition block rises to 50 seats
Additionally, the coalition bloc strengthened by one seat, reaching a round 50, while the opposition bloc, without the Arab parties, lost its majority and fell to 60 seats.
Within the coalition, Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit rose by one seat to reach nine, while in the opposition, Yair Golan’s Democrats Party strengthened by one seat to reach 10. Yashar!, Eisenkot’s party, dropped by one seat to now sit at 14.
The poll also found that a new moderate right-wing party led by former Likud figures, including Yuli Edelstein, Moshe Kahlon, Gilad Erdan, and others, received less than five percent of support (3.5%), giving it four seats and leaving it on the edge of the electoral threshold.
A separate poll, also conducted by Lazar Research, found that a united slate including The Reservists party led by Yoaz Hendel and the New Economic Party led by Yaron Zelekha is expected to receive about 4.5% support. Excluding undecided voters, these percentages translate into five seats, including one from coalition parties, and three others from the opposition and undecided voters.
The poll, conducted on April 29-30, included 501 respondents, representing a representative sample of Israel’s adult population, ages 18 and older, Jews and Arabs. The maximum margin of error is 4.4%.
Source:
www.jpost.com
