
A new poll by the Midgam research institute for Ulpan Shishi showed that 59% of Israelis believe that the current government's management of the coronavirus pandemic is "bad," while just 35% believe it is "good."
The results show a worsening of public opinion: In the previous poll, 37% gave the government's management of the pandemic a "good" rating, while just 54% rated it "bad."
When asked to rate Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, 40% said his performance was "good" and 51% said it was "bad. When asked to rate Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), 43% rated his performance as "good" and 45% rated it "bad" - a difference which falls within statistical error margins. At the same time, 60% gave Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) a "good" rating, while 29% gave him a "bad" rating.
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) received more support, with 56% of respondents rating his performance as "good" and 35% rating it "bad." Most of those who had an opinion - 48% - gave Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope) a "bad" rating, while 38% gave her a "good" rating. When asked about Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), 43% rated him "bad" an an equal number rated him "good."
In addition, most of those who had an opinion - 46% - said they preferred the Netanyahu-led government, while 33% said they preferred the current government. Divided by political stance, 69% of those on the right preferred former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, while 16% prefer current Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's. Among those on the center-left, 61% preferred Bennett's government, while 14% preferred Netanyahu's.
When asked who they prefer to lead the government, 45% said Netanyahu, while 25% said Bennett. When asked to choose between Netanyahu and Lapid, 47% said Netanyahu and 31% said Lapid. Netanyahu also led Gantz, 47% to 26%.
The poll also asked respondents who they would vote for were elections to be held today. The results showed that the Likud would win 32 Knesset seats, followed by Yesh Atid with 20 seats. Sephardic-haredi Shas would win nine seats, while two parties, Labor and Blue and White, would win eight seats each.
Ashkenazic-haredi United Torah Judaism would receive seven seats in such an election, while Bennett's Yamina party would receive six seats. The Joint Arab List, Yisrael Beytenu, and Religious Zionism would also receive six seats each. Three parties would receive four seats, just passing the electoral threshold: New Hope, Meretz, and Ra'am (United Arab List).
The current government, which has a narrow 61-MK majority, would receive just 60 seats in the new elections, the poll showed.
Earlier on Saturday, an Ulpan Shishi poll showed that among Likud voters, former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat is the leading candidate to replace Netanyahu.