Dramatic rise in support for Bennett, Likud support holds still - poll
The poll also assessed the quality of government ministers' performance during the coronavirus crisis.
By CODY LEVINEPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Naftali Bennett visit an army base on the Golan Heights on November 24(photo credit: REUTERS)
A new Channel 12 poll revealed significant shifts in support for Israel's political parties on Sunday, with Naftali Bennett's Yamina Party rising dramatically in the polls, while support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party holds still.According to the poll, if an election were to be held today, the Likud party would receive 30 seats in the Knesset, following by Bennett who would get 18 seats. Yesh Atid-Telem would receive 16 seats if elections were held now, the Joint List 15, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party would receive 12 seats, Yisrael Beytenu and UTJ eight seats, Shas would receive seven mandates and Meretz would hold at six.When asked who is most suitable to serve as prime minister, 43% said Netanyahu, while 16% pointed to Benny Gantz. in a match between Netanyahu and Lapid, 46% supported Netanyahu compared to 22% for Lapid. The closest match-up was between Netanyahu and Bennett, with the former receiving 39% support, compared to 24% for the latter.The poll also asked respondents their opinions of the quality of different leaders' performance during the coronavirus crisis in Israel, which found that 66% of Israeli believe that Netanyahu has performed poorly, compared to 34% who believe he has done a good job. On Gantz, 79% of respondents said that he has done a poor job, in contrast to 21% who believe the opposite.Some 68% of respondents said Health Minister Yuli Edelstein has done a poor job, while 32% believe he has performed well. Similarly, Finance Minister Israel Katz also received poor grades, with 65% of respondents saying so, compared to 35%.In contrast to the poor grades of many government ministers, 73% of respondents said that coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu has done a good job managing the crisis, compared to 27%.Tracking the performance of Netanyahu over a period from May to August, there has been a downturn in positive opinions of the prime minister regarding the coronavirus. In May, 53% of respondents said the prime minister was doing a good job, compared to 43%, thereafter declining to 58% holding a negative view (vs. 35%) in June, followed by 62% unhappy with Netanyahu's performance (vs. 33%), and 64% holding a negative view in July (vs. 32%). Thus far in August, 65% of respondents have been unhappy with Netanyahu's performance, compared to 34% holding a positive view.Lastly, respondents were asked whether they support another full lockdown in order to manage the spread of coronavirus, a slim majority (49%) said they are against an additional closure, compared to 43% who said they support another closure. Some 8% of respondents said they are not sure.
