Poll: Lapid gaining support, Netanyahu losing power

Decline in public’s trust in the prime minister and the Likud continues as survey shows the ruling party dropping from 30 seats to 23, while Yesh Atid jumps to 20 seats.

By Moran Azulay, YNET

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, left, and Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photos: EPA, Gil Yohanan)

A poll ordered by Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party shows that MK Yair Lapid’s party Yesh Atid is garnering more and more support, while the Likud party is losing its power.

According to the poll, conducted three weeks ago, if elections were held today, the ruling Likud party would get 23 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, a major drop from the 30 it current holds. Meanwhile, Lapid’s party would get 20 seats, a significant hike to the 11 it currently has.

The leading opposition party, Zionist Union, would drop from 24 seats to only 16, Bayit Yehudi would jump from 8 seats to 13, while Kahlon’s Kulanu would lose only one seat, going from the 10 it currently has to 9.

Yisrael Beytenu would get 8 seats, two more than what it currently has, while Meretz would get 7, United Torah Judaism and Shas will each get 6, and the Joint Arab List will get 12.

At such a situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be able to form a government with his current partners, as his 61 MKs coalition drops to 57 MKs and fails to reach the majority needed in the Knesset to maintain stability.

The poll was conducted by the American institute 202 Strategies among 1,043 eligible voters in Israel.

A poll conducted by Dr. Mina Tzemach and Mano Geva of the Midgam Institute for Yedioth Ahronoth a month ago showed similar results. The Likud party would drop to 25 seats, Bayit Yehudi would rise to 12 seats, United Torah Judaism would get 7 seats while Shas would get 6, and Kulanu would drop to 7. This once again brings the coalition parties to only 57 seats, four seats shy of the majority they need.

Another recent poll from earlier this week, ordered by Channel 2, showed that 68 percent of Israelis were not happy with the way Netanyahu has been handling the ongoing wave of terrorism.

The poll also found that a third of Israelis (30 percent) believe Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman is the right man to handle Israel’s security and terror problems. Fifteen percent think former IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi is the man for the job, while 13 percent believe Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett is best suited to deal with matters of security.

January 29, 2016 | 10 Comments »

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  1. The bottom line is that Netanyahu is by far the most dominant political leader in Israel’s history, and even my cousins, who are mostly on the left, admit that it is almost impossible for Israelis to truly envision anybody else running the country, as nobody even remotely comes close to his gravitas on the world stage.

  2. @ babushka:
    “invite” them to Europe, especially France and Sweden. The Amphibians are planning to force a terrorist state down Israel’s throat in Judea and Samaria, require mass relocations of Jews ONLY and force Israel to divide Jerusalem. They know full well that Israel could not survive under those conditions for many months. Therefore, The EU should be recognized for what they are and contigency plans drawn up in anticipation for what is sure to accompany such an initiative. War, and soon. Given the trouble being cooked up in the north by Russia, Israel’s predicament with flying missions in The North, Russian Air Supremacy there, in theory, includes advanced intelligence, could prevent IDF Operations, including dealing with Hezbollah 30 km from Golan due East, coupled with Hamas tunnel digging and new threats, and Obama in his final year with a huge chip for Israel’s demise, so much so he wants to become Secretary General of The UN to finish us off; it cannot get better than these odds for forcing Israel down from The Golan, it seems as though a rather broad consensus exists to stick it to The Jews, big time. All of these developments seem coordinated somehow to me, not a mere coincidence, I am thinking of OBAMA’S off mic comments to Putin that he could be more flexible after the election, OBAMA can be expected to do something really ugly. Netanyahu had better wake up, stat. He needs to be tossed into the mikvah, head first.

  3. Netanyahu losing power

    Thank you, Lord. Since you are finally in the mood to answer my prayers, your next assignment is to relocate every Palestinian to wherever Obama retires.

    Much obliged.

  4. Polls are snapshot in time. What this shows today Bibi is down because of the ongoing intifada and perception he is not doing enough to make Israelis safe.

    The issue for most people is not annexation. People do not want pull out of the blocks for sure. They actually do not want withdraw like in Gaza again unilaterally because they serves no purpose except if you are an Arab terrorist there is consensus on that.

    What all parties would agree to who knows? They are more interested in being elected then agreeing on things.

    Most of the Likud would want to annex (blocks + more maybe all of C or close excluding Arab towns), Yisrael Beitenyu would annex (Blocks + more all Jewish Towns, Jordan Valley), Bayit Yehudi would annex all of C, Kahlon?? Blocks + Jordan Valley and Jewish Towns maybe, Lapid probably not without an agreement but possibly the blocks unilaterly, Zionist Union would not want to annex. Give the religious money and no Lapid party they will agree to annex whatever you want.

    Ted, If you make Lieberman Defense Minister or maybe Foreign Minister again he might join the coalition. However at this time Bibi and he have a hard time being in the same room yet in the forum of 8 running the country again.

  5. Ted Belman Said:

    Can they agree on extending Israel law to Gush Etzion and Maaleh Adumin?

    I am sure that by the end those will be in Israeli hands… but that wont be done until YS outside of there is forgotten or wanted. At that point the 2 will appear like manna from heaven. A case of reducing the ambitions of Jews to match what they will be given.

  6. Ted Belman Said:

    What is needed is an agreement that all major parties will back. Can they agree on lifting the freeze? Can they agree on extending Israel law to Gush Etzion and Maaleh Adumin?

    sounds like futile hope…. only BY has any interest in retaining any of YS outside the major blocks…. 8 seats… less than 8%. To me it appears that the problem is not the foreginers but the Israeli Jews.

  7. Bayit Yehudi would jump from 8 seats to 13,

    HMMMM that represents a jump from less than 8% to approx 10% of the knesset. this shows that less than 10% of the voting public have any desire for area C of YS beyond existing major blocks. I would say that those figures demonstrate the futility of hoping for annexation of anything more than the major blocks…. the jews dont want it. The same goes for reducing muslim abuse of Jews, retaining Jerusalem. Less than 10% of Israelis care.

  8. Both Lapid and Herzog are preaching separation. Lapid wants to do it by agreement whereas Herzog wants to do it unilaterally. Neither is looking to enlarge our borders.

    According to the new poll if they joined their parties they would be asked to form the government.

  9. It should be pointed out that if Yisrael Beiteinu joined the government then the right would have 63 seats.

    If Lapid and Kahlon merged they would be called upon to form the government.

    What is needed is an agreement that all major parties will back. Can they agree on lifting the freeze? Can they agree on extending Israel law to Gush Etzion and Maaleh Adumin?