Poll Shows an Independent Livni Bests Her Zionist Camp Boss Gabay

A new poll in Yisrael Hayom shows that Binyamin Netanyahu is seen by Israelis as the most worthy candidate for another terms as Prime Minister. Despite his legal troubles, nearly half of Israelis polled by the Ma’agar Mohot organization – 46 percent – said that Netanyahu was the best person to run Israel. In second place is Yair Lapid, whom 24 percent of Israelis said was the best candidate for the job – the biggest gap on the leadership qualifications of the two in recent polls.

Full details of the poll were published in Friday’s edition of the newspaper. In data published on Thursday, the poll showed that the Likud would garner 34 seats in elections, if they were held today – four more than the party currently has. The poll also shows Yesh Atid coming in with 24 seats – while the party’s center-left rival, Zionist Camp, crashes to just 10 seats, down from its current 24. The third largest party in the Knesset would be Jewish Home, which would get 14 seats, six more than it currently has.

But perhaps even more surprising than the projected success and continued support for Netanyahu, who has been under constant media attack over the police investigation into four corruption scandals surrounding him, was the fate of Zionist Camp and its leader, Avi Gabay, without Tzippy Livni, the party’s number two. After Lapid, she is seen as the most worthy Prime Minister – by 12 percent of Israelis – and bests the leader of her party, Avi Gabay, who is seen as the best candidate for the post by just 8 percent of Israelis. Gabay is also bested by Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, who is seen as the best Prime Minister candidate by 10 percent of Israelis.

In addition, Livni could get eight seats if she were to break away and form her own party – and if she did so, her party would beat out Zionist Camp, which would get just seven seats. Currently, the party has 23 seats in the Knesset.

The poll also shows a mass defection of voters from Shas; the Sephardic chareidi party has the votes to garner just two Knesset seats, half of the minimum number needed by a party for Knesset representation. United Torah Judaism would get eight seats, two more than its current six, while Meretz would get seven seats, Kulanu six, and Yisrael Beytenu five.

The poll of a scientifically determined representative sample of 513 Israelis was taken after the latest development in the corruption investigations surrounding Netanyahu – the signing of a deal by former Netanyahu aide Nir Hefetz with police to testify against the Prime Minister. According to Yisrael Hayom, the poll results show that Netanyahu continues to remain popular among Israelis, despite the investigations.