Poll: Livni strongest against Netanyahu
Survey conducted less than two months before general elections shows Likud gaining strength; Israelis believe Livni stronger premiership candidate than Yachimovich
According to the Mina Tzemach/Dahaf poll, the ruling party would win 37 Knesset seats if elections were held today, four more than what a different survey conducted in the beginning of the month indicated. Labor, on the other hand, lost five Knesset seats and is set to win 19 in the upcoming elections, according to the poll.
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The survey showed that the third largest party is Shas, which would reap 11 Knesset seats if elections were held today. Shas is followed by Habayit Hayehudi (10 seats), while Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party and Tzipi Livni's Hat'nua are expected to get nine Knesset seats each in the January elections. Meretz and United Torah Judaism will each win five Knesset seats, while Rabbi Chaim Amsellem's party and Knesset Member Michael Ben-Ari's Strong Israel faction are expected to receive two seats each, according to the survey.
Kadima will not pass the 2% electoral threshold for entering the Knesset, according to the survey.
Among the Arab parties, Hadash is expected to reap four Knesset seats, United Arab List-Ta'al will also have two representatives in the Knesset, while Balad, the poll indicates, will win three Knesset seats.
According to the survey, the rightist political bloc will consist of 49 Knesset members, the haredi parties will have 18 Knesset seats, the left-center bloc will have 42 seats in the next Knesset, and the Arab parties will have 11.
Asked who is better suited to head the next government - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich - 62% of those polled said Netanyahu was better suited for the role, as opposed to only 19% who claimed Yachimovich would be a better PM. When asked to choose between Netanyahu and Livni, 55% of the respondents said Netanyahu would be a better prime minister, while 30% supported Livni.
The poll's results are based on responses provided by 700 people who constitute a representative sample of Israel's adult population.
