BICOM

Several polls published over the last few days in Israel have indicated that support for the joint Likud-Beitenu list has dropped over recent weeks, mainly losing seats to Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home party.

A survey conducted by Dialog was published in Haaretz this morning indicating that although it would comfortably be the largest party list if an election were held today, the Likud-Beitenu slate would win only 34 Knesset seats. A Dahaf poll for Channel Two released yesterday suggested similar results, with Likud-Beitenu polling at 33 seats, the exact same number predicted in a Yediot Ahronot poll on Friday. According to BICOM’s poll of polls, the list was polling on 37 seats a month ago.

The Jewish Home party appears to be building support and is gets 14 seats and 13 seats respectively in the Haaretz and Channel Two polls, making it potentially the third largest party in the next Knesset. The Labour Party is currently set to secure 16 seats according to Haaretz and 17 according to Channel Two.

Both surveys indicate that Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah party and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid are likely to secure between nine and eleven mandates. However, the Haaretz poll found that some 40 per cent of Hatnuah voters are considering voting for another party as are 50 per cent of Yesh Atid supporters.

Meanwhile, the Channel Two poll questioned respondents over their preferences for individual politicians in senior ministerial roles. It found that 50 per cent favoured Tzipi Livni as foreign minister with just 33 per cent supporting Avigdor Lieberman in the role, while 49 per cent want Ehud Barak to remain as Defence Minister, despite his recent retirement from politics. It remains theoretically possible for Barak to be appointed Defence Minister even if he is not serving in the next Knesset.