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Israelis Ponder Lists of Knesset Candidates
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A third of adults in Israel want Benny Begin to be the second name in the list of Likud party legislative contenders, according to a poll by Shvakim Panorama released by Israel Radio. 32.9 per cent of respondents choose Begin, while 23.6 per cent would prefer former foreign minister Silvan Shalom.
In addition, 31 per cent of respondents want transportation minister Shaul Mofaz to be the second name in the Kadima list, while 14.7 per cent would pick interior minister Meir Shitreet. For the Labour party list, 20.4 per cent want former Israeli admiral Ami Ayalon as the second candidate, while 20.1 per cent select infrastructure minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer.
In March 2006, Israeli voters renewed the Knesset. Kadima, founded by former prime minister Ariel Sharon and led by Ehud Olmert, secured 29 seats in the legislature. Labour, the International Organization of Torah-observant Sephardic Jews (Shas), and the Retired People’s Party (Gil) joined Kadima in a coalition. In October, the Israeli cabinet approved the addition of Israel Our Home to the Olmert-led government.
In May, Israeli police raided the offices of Jerusalem’s city government and seized documents related to Olmert’s tenure as mayor, from 1993 to 2003. In July, Olmert announced that he would not participate in an extraordinary internal ballot for Kadima’s leadership. In September, Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni defeated Mofaz in a close race to become Kadima’s new leader.
Livni was supposed to take over as Israel’s prime minister, but was unable to assemble a government. A snap election will take place on Feb. 10, 2009.
In June 2007, Ehud Barak defeated Ayalon in the second round of the Labour party’s primary election with 51.2 per cent of the vote. In August 2007, Benjamin 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 Nov. 4, Begin returned to Likud and dismissed any past grievances with Netanyahu, declaring, "People can overcome their differences. (...) I saw that the media has taken clips from the attic that were irrelevant. In the last 10 years, Bibi has matured by 10 years, and I have gotten 10 years older."
Polling Data
Of the following, who should be chosen in the Likud as #2 and Benjamin Netanyahu’s deputy prime minister should Netanyahu be elected prime minister?
|
Benny Begin |
32.9% |
|
Silvan Shalom |
23.6% |
|
Moshe Yaalon |
5.7% |
|
Yossi Peled |
5.3% |
|
Gidon Saar |
2.3% |
Of the following, who should be chosen in Kadima as #2 and Tzipi Livni’s deputy prime minister should Livni be elected prime minister?
|
Shaul Mofaz |
31.0% |
|
Meir Shitreet |
14.7% |
|
Avi Dichter |
9.8% |
|
Tzahi Hanegbi |
5.6% |
|
Ronnie Bar-On |
2.6% |
Of the following, who should be chosen in Labour as #2 and Ehud Barak’s deputy prime minister should Barak be elected prime minister?
|
Ami Ayalon |
20.4% |
|
Benjamin Ben Eliezer |
20.1% |
|
Amir Peretz |
15.8% |
|
Ophir Paz-Pines |
15.0% |
|
Isaac Herzog |
6.1% |
Source: Shvakim Panorama / Israel Radio
Methodology: Interviews with 510 Israeli adults, conducted on Nov. 5, 2008. No margin of error was provided.