Minister Amichai Chikli spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News early Wednesday morning from Likud's election headquarters following the release of the exit polls in the 26th Knesset elections, expressing satisfaction with the gap between earlier predictions and the party's performance in the exit polls.
Chikli, who had also spoken to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News two days before the elections, was asked whether the results had made him more optimistic. In response, he emphasized that the exit polls had, in his view, disproven predictions that Likud would win just 18 seats.
The minister sharply criticized political commentators and pollsters who had predicted a significant decline in Likud's support, arguing that those who had written off the party and underestimated its political strength had been proven wrong.
Nevertheless, Chikli stressed that the exit poll results did not mean Likud had won the elections. He noted that it could take another two or three days for the final picture to emerge once all votes had been counted.
Chikli concluded that although the composition of the next government remained uncertain, it was already clear that predictions portraying Likud as an 18-seat party had been far removed from the results reflected in the exit polls.