Ofir Akunis
Ofir Akunisצילום: לשכת השר

Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) downplayed his party’s sharp decline in the polls recently, citing internal Likud polling showing the faction with about 30 seats.

The Likud, which won 36 seats in the March election, soared in public polling to the low 40s in the spring, remaining there through the end of June.

During the summer, however, the party fell into a steep decline, plummeting from 41 to 42 seats at its peak to between 26 to 28 seats in recent weeks.

Most of the lost seats have gone to the rightist Yamina party, which remains in the Opposition.

Speaking with Radio 103FM Tuesday morning, Akunis said that contrary to recent polls showing the Likud in the mid-to-high 20s, internal party polls show the Likud holding steady at around 30 seats.

Turning to the ongoing budget battle between the Likud and the Blue and White party, Akunis warned that Blue and White’s insistence on passing a two-year budget could lead to the collapse of the government and new elections – Israel’s fourth in two years.

“While I don’t think we’re getting so close to having new elections that we have to worry at this point yet, I hear how Blue and White is pushing us in that direction, so we do need to be prepared for any possibility. It’s Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi who are talking about new elections.”

“The people who at the end of the day will determine whether we have new elections are the Blue and White party, if they force us down that path, if they keep saying that they prefer to go to new elections if they don’t get both a budget for 2020 and 2021 within the next two weeks.”