Likud may have trouble forming a coalition without Liberman, polls show
Without Liberman, the Right-wing parties stand at 59 seats, two below the minimum for forming a coalition.
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIAvigdor Liberman exits the Knesset following the passing of a Knesset dispersal, 2019.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The Right-wing parties could face a crisis if they need to build a coalition without Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party, a poll conducted by Yisrael Hayom found.The poll found that if citizens were to vote today, Yisrael Beytenu would increase from its five seats to eight, making it the third-largest party after Likud, which would stand at 36 seats, and Blue and White, which would stand at 34.UTJ would win seven seats, along with Shas Hadash-Ta'al. The New Right and Balad-United Arab List would each win five. Labor would fall from six to four, tying with the Union of Right-Wing Parties (URP) and Meretz.Zehut would be left below the threshold with a mere two seats.These results may pose a problem for the Right if the Likud is chosen to build a government again, as the Right-wing parties, without including Liberman would be standing at 59 seats. The minimum to build a coalition is 61.Most Israelis, according to the poll, would not switch their initial vote if the new elections were today.
