Poll: Knesset Run by Gantz Would Be Ruinous for Zionist Camp

YERUSHALAYIM
Benny Gantz
Former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

A new poll shows a significant increase in electoral strength for the right, as both the Likud and Jewish Home increased their popularity among the electorate, while both Yesh Atid and Zionist Camp were quickly losing favor with the voters. In the Channel Ten poll released Thursday night, the Likud would get 31 seats in the Knesset if elections were held today. Jewish Home, meanwhile, would get 13 seats – five more than it currently has, and higher than it has been polling in recent months.

The real electoral drama takes place on the center-left. Yesh Atid, which had until very recently been polling in the mid-20s for number of Knesset seats, would get no more than 15 if elections were held now. Zionist Camp, meanwhile, would only get 11 seats – making it only the fifth biggest party in the Knesset.

As poor as the performance of Zionist Camp currently is, things could go far worse for the party because of the potential of a new competitor for center-left voters – former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. While Gantz has not announced any intention to run, recent reports have him talking to political figures and advisers. If he were to run, the poll shows, Gantz would get 13 seats, making him a contender for inclusion in the next government.

If Gantz were to run, he would collect votes from nearly all parties. The Likud would lose two seats and Jewish Home would lose three. Yesh Atid would get 13 seats instead of 15. And Zionist Camp would be relegated to a minor party, with just 8 seats.

Whether or not Gantz runs, United Torah Judaism would get 8 seats, and Shas could expect 4. Kulanu could expect 6, Meretz 6, Yisrael Beytenu 5, and a party led by former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy-Abukasis 5.

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