According to a new poll conducted by Kantar on behalf of Kan News, 43% of respondents blame Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the fact that Israel is now heading to its fourth round of elections in two years.
This suggests that the public perception is that Netanyahu used a loophole in the coalition agreements for the unity government, that regarding the state budget, to prevent “alternate Prime Minister” Benny Gantz from attaining the premiership, despite repeated claims that the Likud would honor the rotation agreement.
On Tuesday morning, Likud minister Gila Gamliel, speaking on Radio 103FM, protested that “Netanyahu did not delay the budget,” adding that in her opinion, ex-Likud MK Gideon Sa’ar has “no chance” of being able to form a government. All the same, Kantar’s poll revealed that 36% of respondents would like to see Sa’ar as premier, only marginally fewer than those who prefer Netanyahu to remain in power (39%). Yamina party head MK Naftali Bennett had significantly less support at 23%.