(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five Israelis believe a former prime minister will head the government again, according to a poll by the Dahaf Institute published in Yediot Ahronot. 41 per cent of respondents think Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu will be prime minister at the end of 2008.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five Israelis believe a former prime minister will head the government again, according to a poll by the Dahaf Institute published in Yediot Ahronot. 41 per cent of respondents think Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu will be prime minister at the end of 2008.
Conversely, 22 per cent of respondents think current prime minister and Kadima leader Ehud Olmert will remain in his position, 16 per cent believe Labour leader Ehud Barak will head the government, and eight per cent say current foreign minister and Kadima member Tzipi Livni will take over.
In March 2006, Israeli voters renewed the Knesset. Kadima, founded by former prime minister Ariel Sharon and led by Olmert, secured 29 seats in the legislature. Labour, the Retired People’s Party (Gil) and the International Organization of Torah-observant Sephardic Jews (Shas) joined Kadima in a coalition. In October, the Israeli cabinet approved the addition of Israel Our Home to the government. Olmert’s coalition now has the support of 78 of the Knesset’s 120 members.
In June, Barak defeated former Israeli admiral Ami Ayalon in the second round of the Labour party’s primary election with 51.2 per cent of the vote. In August, Netanyahu won the Likud contest with 73 per cent of the vote.
Netanyahu served as prime minister from June 1996 to July 1999, and resigned from Sharon’s cabinet—where he held the finance portfolio—after opposing the "Disengagement Plan." Barak headed the Israeli government from July 1999 to March 2001.
On Dec. 28, Barak criticized Netanyahu, saying, "He did a few good things (as finance minister), but he crushed Israeli welfare and brought millions of Israelis to a situation where they must live day to day. (…) If the clouds of suspicion were hovering over the heads of the Labour party like they are hovering over the heads of leaders in other places, Labour members would be expelling them from the party."
In the survey, 85 per cent of respondents say they are optimistic about their personal situation, but only 46 per cent feel the same way about the situation of the State.
Polling Data
Who do you think will be prime minister at the end of 2008?
|
Benjamin Netanyahu |
41% |
|
Ehud Olmert |
22% |
|
Ehud Barak |
16% |
|
Tzipi Livni |
8% |
Are you optimistic about your personal situation?
|
Optimistic |
85% |
|
Pessimistic |
14% |
Are you optimistic about the situation of the State?
|
Optimistic |
46% |
|
Pessimistic |
54% |
Source: Dahaf Institute / Yediot Ahronot
Methodology: Interviews with 500 Israeli adults, conducted on Dec. 27, 2007. Margin of error is 4.5 per cent.
