A poll conducted by the Lazar Research Institute indicates that the union between former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid has already weakened both parties.
According to the poll, conducted for Walla!, if elections were held today, the joint party, dubbed, "Beyachad," would receive 27 seats, four fewer than the two parties would win if running separately.
The unified party also fails to become the largest faction, with Likud leading at 28 seats.
Third-largest in the Knesset is MK Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar!" party, which rises to 15 seats following the Bennett-Lapid merger. In such a scenario, the Democrats would receive nine seats.
Otzma Yehudit, Shas, and Yisrael Beytenu would receive eight seats each, and United Torah Judaism would win seven seats. The Arab parties, Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am (United Arab List) would win five seats each.
Divided into blocs, the coalition stands at 51 seats, showing slight gains compared to previous polls, while the opposition bloc reaches 59 seats. The remaining 10 seats would be held by the Arab parties, which traditionally do not join either government.
Blue and White drops to just 1% support in this poll. The Religious Zionism and Reservists parties receive 2.1% each, and none pass the electoral threshold.
In a scenario where Gadi Eisenkot also joins the alliance, the combined list of the three parties would receive 41 seats, becoming the largest faction the Knesset, though the overall bloc balance remains unchanged.