A television opinion poll on Tuesday indicated the opposition right-wing Yamina party is closing the gap with the ruling Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If elections were held today, Likud would pick up 26 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while Naftali Bennett’s Yamina would win 23, the Channel 12 survey said. In March’s elections, Likud won 36 seats, and Yamina just six.
No elections are currently set to take place, but speculation is rampant that an early vote will be called sometime in the next several months, as bad blood between Netanyahu and his Blue and White partner Defense Minister Benny Gantz continues to brew, in the shadow of a budget deadline at the end of the year that could automatically fell the government.
In response to the poll, Likud said in a statement: “Everyone knows how it will end. We’re used to the left-wing media propping up Bennett to bring down Prime Minister Netanyahu and Likud. It won’t work this time either.”
The Channel 12 survey also found that a plurality of respondents — 49% — say the government should be dissolved and early elections — which would be the fourth national vote since April 2019 — should be called. Just 30% said the government should continue operating and 21% said they don’t know. Broken down by political leanings, 58% of center-left voters, and 45% of right-wing voters, said elections should be called as soon as possible.
Yamina has been steadily making gains as a protest movement against Netanyahu’s corruption charges has gained steam and as the country has floundered in efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
In May, polls projected 41 seats for Likud, and just seven for Yamina, with the gap narrowing steadily ever since. Bennett has pounded the prime minister for the government’s purported mishandling of the coronavirus crisis, while presenting himself as a viable right-wing alternative. READ MORE
