In March 2012, the state comptroller’s report on the Harpaz affair delivered a blow to former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and declared his behavior “inappropriate.” A few days later, Maariv conducted a popularity poll comparing Ashkenazi to then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Although the comptroller placed responsibility on Ashkenazi’s shoulders for adopting a series of “problematic” actions, to say the least, on the public and moral levels, and criticized Barak more judiciously, the results of the survey showed that Ashkenazi’s public reputation was virtually unaffected: 48% stated that they believed the former chief of staff while 17% believed the defense minister. Moreover, 65% wanted to see Ashkenazi get involved in politics, while 21% viewed him as a worthy candidate for the premiership.

According to August reports that were not repudiated, Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid is vigorously courting Ashkenazi and even met with him. It seems not much has changed since the opinion poll, and the public still loves Ashkenazi. We can count on Lapid, who follows all the polls, having conducted an in-depth study on Ashkenazi and concluding that if he gets Ashkenazi on his side, he’ll be able to attract moderate right-wing voters and has a chance of winning the elections.

Read the article in full at Al-Monitor.