Poll: Likud up, Labor down

While Likud, under leadership of newly elected Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, is starting to narrow gap, Labor continues to drop; 40 percent of respondents say Labor party leader Peretz not fit to serve as PM

Reuters | Published: 12.30.05, 10:35

While Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Kadima party maintains its stability, the latest pre-election poll shows Likud is growing in strength while the Labor party continues its decline.

According to the Mina Tzemach poll, published Friday morning by Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Kadima is holding steady at 39 Knesset seats were elections held today, Labor is falling to 21 mandates and the Likud going up to 14 seats, a two-seat increase from last week.

It appears that even optimistic Labor party leader Amir Peretz is starting to grasp his party is in trouble. The euphoria in the wake of Peretz' Labor win quickly dissipated following Sharon's departure from Likud, with the second blow being Shimon Peres' decision to leave Labor and join Kadima.

Peretz weak when it comes to security

The recent days, which have been replete with clashes in the north and south of the country, seem to emphasize Peretz' main weakness, that is, his weak security background in a country where matters of security still top the agenda. At this time it appears the Israeli public does not view Peretz as a match to PM Sharon's authority in security matters.

With security matters possibly pushing social issues off the agenda in a hurry, Peretz could indeed become an irrelevant figure.

When asked why Peretz seems to be going nowhere, 40 percent of survey respondents said he did not have the skills necessary to assume the premiership, while 21 percent said he is not experience enough. Only 12 percent of those who do not intend to vote for Labor said they were bothered by his political positions, and only 6 percent said they disagreed with his economic stance. However, 13 percent said Peretz' personality was the problem.

Regarding Peres' departure, 77.9 percent of respondents said a possible return of the veteran politician to Labor would not influence them, but 20 percent said such move would reinforce their inclination to vote Labor.

Meanwhile, 20.5 percent of respondents said that although they have a favored party at this time, they may still change their minds by the time the elections roll around.