No majority for realignment plan? Olmert
Photo: AFP
New immigrants want him running things. Lieberman
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
Polls: 70 percent oppose realignment
Surveys conducted for Avigdor Lieberman’s Israel Our Home party show that some 70 percent of Israelis who backed last summer’s Gaza disengagement object to West Bank withdrawal plan; only small percentage of respondents said they consider Peretz a success as defense minister
Two polls conducted for Avigdor Lieberman’s Israel Our Home party showed that some 70 percent of Israelis are opposed to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s realignment plan.
The polls, conducted by Shvakim Panorama under the supervision of American strategist Arthur Finkelstein, also revealed that some 65-70 percent of those who backed last summer’s Gaza disengagement object to the West Bank withdrawal plan.
In-House Criticism
Attila Somfalvi
As Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gathers international support for his unilateral realignment plan, senior Kadima official says Israel will not gain international backing for unilateral West Bank withdrawal; 'I am not sure plan will gain majority support within Kadima,' official adds
In addition, the survey showed that 70 percent of Israelis who backed the Gaza pullout would have been against it today.
According to the polls, about 80 percent of new Russian immigrants who voted for Kadima in the March elections now support Israel Our Home due to the fact that Olmert did not appoint Kadima MK Marina Solodkin to a cabinet post, which they view as an insult to the entire sector.
The surveys showed that the Russian immigrant public would like to see Lieberman replace Olmert as prime minister; Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu followed Lieberman as the sector’s choice for the position.
'New immigrants switching from Kadima to Israel Our Home'
The polls also revealed that Labor is losing strength, with many of those who voted for Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s party defecting to other parties. Senior Labor officials said certain disappointment can be detected among those who voted for the party in the last elections.
Respondents viewed Olmert as a weak prime minister, and only a small percentage said they consider Peretz to be a success as defense minister.
The vast majority of those who took part in the survey responded negatively to the question “do you feel safe in the country?” and Finkelstein said the reason this discontent has not been expressed in a major loss of mandates by both Kadima and Labor is attributed to the fact that no security-related catastrophe has occurred.
“We can confirm that new immigrants are switching from Kadima to Israel Our Home, and a segment of the general public is leaving both Likud and Kadima for our party,” an Israel Our Home official told Ynet.
