It has not been an easy election season for the Likud party and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. They were hit first with the bottle deposit scandal which alleges Mrs. Netanyahu pocketed money earned from returning bottles in the Prime Minister’s Residence for her private use.
The next scandal was the state comptroller’s report citing excessive spending in the Prime Minister’s Residence, which may lead to a criminal investigation against a number of people, including PM Netanyahu.
The latest blow to the Netanyahu campaign came on Wednesday evening 6 Adar when the state comptroller released a damaging report that includes a scathing criticism of government failures regarding the nation’s housing crisis. While portions of the report refer to the Olmert administration, most pertains to the Netanyahu administrations. The report cites “poor government, poor planning and implementation, lack of coordination between ministries and agencies” as some of the major causes for today’s unacceptable housing situation nationwide.
A Panels election poll commissioned by Maariv was released on Thursday, 7 Adar. The poll places Labor/The Movement in the lead with 24 seats, as compared to Likud with 23. Other polls this week show Likud trailing by more.
Labor/The Movement: 24
Likud: 23
Arab bloc: 13
Bayit Yehudi: 12
Yesh Atid: 12
Kulanu: 8
Yahadut Hatorah: 7
Shas: 7
Yisrael Beitenu: 5
Yachad: 4
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
When all is said ,Bibi is once again seemingly showing indifference and failing to offer any viable economic platform for his natural voting base :the hard working lower and lower middle class (particularly the women).
Hopefully we’ll soon have Prime Minister Herzog.
It does not..
HERZOG WILL Not make coolition
Outscoring Likud is irrelevant. Labor can get to 61 only by including the Arabs, the Hareidim and/or a right-wing ultra nationalist party. All Likud needs are the hareidim.
The only way they can avoid including the hareidim (whose price will be cancelling the draft law) is for a Likud-Labor coaltion, and even that might not be possible.
#2
are you nuts?
#5: Hopefully the Chareidi parties will be part of a coalition government with Herzog rather than the current Likud regime that passed laws against Bnei Torah and drafting them out of the yeshiva. Chareidi parties have in the past been part of a Labor coalition. Can and should happen again.
#2. So you’re in favor of every Toeiva imaginable, giving Land to the Arabs who even say they want it to use it as a stepping stone to destroy us and want a Prime Minister who can’t even say whether he believes in Hashem or not.
Also, a Prime minister whose negotiating skills are that of a child, who even Livni can take to the cleaners.
Good thing you can’t vote!
Lior:
First, Likud and Bayit Yehudi will decide on whether they need to insist on drafting yeshiva students, and if no, they will be able to form a coalition with the Hareidim (right wing government, pro-settlements)
Second, If Likud and Bayit Yehudi refuse to compromise, Labor gets the chance to offer to cancel conscription in return for hareidi support, and has the opportunity to form a government including the hareidim, and probably the Arab parties (left wing government, anti-settlements, and perhaps very anti-settlements depending on how critical Arab support is)
Third, if neither major party offers to end Hareidi conscription, Labor and Likud will have to form a joint government, excluding most of the “left” and the “right”, which will proceed with the War on the Hareidim and suddently the Eidos Hareidos, Satmar, etc., replace Degel ha-Torah, Agudah and Shas as the leading force in hareidi politics.
N.B. A likely option for those wanting to end Hareidi conscription is to switch Israel to a professional/volunteer army, similar to the USA and most western democracies (other than Switzerland).
Meretz isn’t on the list. Does that mean that they didn’t pass the threshold? W/o Meretz the left is going to be in even bigger trouble forming a coalition.
If the Left can convince the Charedim to join it’s going to limit the left very much. They aren’t going to stay on board if they are going to try to pass laws against Shabbos, Geirus, Toeva, etc.