Poll: Herzog-Livni union would beat Netanyahu
New survey shows center-left merger yielding 23 seats, compared Likud's 21; Bayit Yehudi follows with 18; Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beiteinu, and possible Kahlon party trail with nine apiece.
A union between Tzipi Livni and the Labor Party could create the largest party after elections in 2015, according to a new poll commissioned by the Knesset television channel, and beat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.
The poll, carried out by the Panels Politics research institute, said that were elections to take place today, the Likud would receive 21 seats, compared to 23 that Livni and Herzog would win together.
Bayit Yehudi would take 18 seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu, Yesh Atid, and Moshe Kahlon’s party would get nine each. United Torah Judaism would garner eight seats, Shas seven, and Meretz six.
Of the Arab parties, Hadash would receive five seats, as would United Arab List-Ta’al, while Balad didn’t pass the required threshold. However, the Arab parties are expected to unite ahead of the elections.
Without Livni, Labor would receive only 17 seats, according to the poll, which surveyed 500 adults based on a sample of the Israeli population, with a margin of error of up to 4.5%.
The Knesset was expected to finalize its dissolution on Monday afternoon and confirm general elections for March 17, 2015.
Monday morning saw a tumultuous Finance Committee meeting, which approved a budget increase of NIS 3.76 billion for security funding, including NIS 2.5 billion at the expense of social welfare and offices.
Within the parties, most of the commotion has been inside the ranks of Likud. Gideon Sa'ar, the former interior minister, was expected to announce before the weekend whether he would run against Netanyahu as leader of the party.
The prime minister has been working to bring primaries forward from their scheduled date, January 6, to December 30, allegedly attempting to head off a challenge by Sa'ar.
