With next week marking six months since the formation of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government, a recent survey published on Sunday found the broad political coalition is largely unpopular among Israelis.
The poll published by N12, Channel 12's news site, showed nearly twice as many Israelis prefer former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu over Bennett or Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who serves as this government's "alternate" prime minister.
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Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the Knesset plenum
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Of those questioned, 45 percent said they would like Netanyahu to be prime minister, while only 25% preferred Bennett and 24% Lapid.
However, if elections were to be held today, the current coalition would win 57 seats - on par with Netanyahu's. The predominately-Arab Joint List would hold the other six, meaning no coalition on its own would be able to win, continuing the parliamentary deadlock that had plagued Israel for nearly two years prior to the latest elections.
Of current ministers, Defense Minister Benny Gantz fared the best, with 55% satisfied with his overall performance, compared to 33% who were dissatisfied. Meanwhile, Lapid earned 42% approval rating.
Many Israelis also said they were against the rotation agreement between Bennett and Lapid, with the latter set to become prime minister in August 2023. At least 44% of those questioned said they oppose the rotation, 40% support it, and 16% don’t know.
The survey, conducted by pollster Manu Geva, included 509 respondents and had a 4.4 percent margin of error.