New polls show the Likud opening a wide lead – between 6 and 11 Knesset seats – over its nearest rival, Kadima. Labor plunges to 8 seats.
A Dachaf-Yediot poll shows the Likud climbing to a 6-seat lead, 32-26, over Kadima in the upcoming elections, scheduled for February 10. But another poll, released by Brain Base Institue, shows the Likud doing even better, leading Kadima by a 34-23 margin.
The poll by Dachaf Institute, headed by Dr. Mina Tzemach, and the Yediot Acharonot newspaper shows no other major surprises. Shas receives 11 seats, Yisrael Beiteinu – 9, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and left-wing Meretz – 7 each. The effects of the merger of the religious-Zionist parties into one, which was given the name “Jewish Home” on Wednesday, were not felt in the poll, which gives the new party only 6 Knesset mandates.
Right-Wing Leading, 69-51
The Brain Base poll shows more extreme results, giving the right-wing bloc a total of 69 seats, compared to only 51 for the left.
In particular: Likud – 34, Kadima – 23, Shas 13, Yisrael Beiteinu – 10.
The Brain Base poll shows Meretz receiving 10 seats, partly at the expense of Labor. UTJ would receive 5 seats and the Jewish Home – 7.
Labor continues its free fall in both polls, with only 8 seats – its lowest poll showing in decades.
Barak: No Regrets
Ehud Barak, chairman of the plunging Labor Party, shows no signs of learning from mistakes. He attacked his rivals on both the left and right, and in response to accusations that he is not involving his party colleagues in major decisions, he said, “I know that I have been the bad boy of Israeli politics, but as long as I know that I am doing the right things, I am willing to accept this on myself.”