With less than three weeks before the upcoming elections on Jan. 22, a poll conducted by the New Wave Research firm for Israel Hayom shows the Likud Beitenu maintaining a substantial lead over the other parties, with 34 Knesset seats, Labor in second place with 16 Knesset seats, only two seats more than the Bayit Yehudi — which polls at 14 seats.
According to the poll, 60% of respondents said they will definitely vote on Jan. 22. If you take into account the additional respondents who said that there was a 75% chance that they would vote, you get a projected turnout of close to 75%, which is high in comparison with previous elections.
While Likud's opponents from the Center-Left are campaigning to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming he has failed and that he is not fit to continue to serve as Prime Minister, the Israeli public feels differently.
When asked about the suitability of the various candidates for the position of prime minister, there was a huge gap between Netanyahu and the rest of the candidates combined. 43.2% of respondents said that Netanyahu was best suited for the position, while Tzipi Livni was described as best suited for the post by a mere 12.9%, Yechimovich by 10.3% and Yair Lapid by 3.6%. Thus grant Netanyahu a huge upper-hand against his so-called opponents, by 43-27 percent.
