Israeli Gov't Unpopular But Netanyahu Can't Hold Israel Together

Some six months since the formation of a disparate eight-party ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a poll published by Channel 12 news Sunday showed that the current government is largely unpopular, the Times of Israel reported.

Photo Insert: The Knesset

But the survey also showed that there are precious few other options, as new elections would continue the parliamentary deadlock that plagued Israel for some two years and four elections.

The poll showed that nearly twice as many Israelis prefer opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister to Bennett or Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

If elections were held today, 45 percent of respondents said that they would like the Likud chairman to be prime minister — compared to only 25% who would prefer Bennett, and 24% who would prefer Lapid.

Bennett’s approval numbers may have been impacted by a public uproar over a recent overseas trip by his family, taken after Bennett recommended against travel in the light of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

When asked what government they preferred, 43% said they preferred the previous government led by Netanyahu, while 36% preferred the current government led by Bennett and Lapid. Others had no clear answer.

But Netanyahu still lacked a viable path to forming a government if elections were held today, with only 57 seats to his bloc of right-wing and religious parties. Meanwhile, the current coalition would lose four seats, sitting at 57 as well. The Joint List, a smaller coalition of four predominantly Arab parties, would hold the other six.

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