Likud under Barkat would win more seats than with Netanyahu - poll

If elections were held today, the Likud Party would win only 16 seats, losing ground to Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party with 37 seats, a new Channel 13 poll showed yesterday. 

Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party would follow suit with 14 seats.

According to the poll, Shas and Yisrael Beytenu would receive nine seats respectively, Otzma Yehudit eight seats, United Torah Judaism seven seats, the Religious Zionist Party six seats, Ra'am and Hadash-Ta'al five seats each, and Meretz four seats. 

Neither the Labor Party nor Balad would pass the electoral threshold. 

This would leave the current coalition with a total of 46 seats.

More seats for Likud under Barkat's leadership

The poll also addressed the question of leadership in the governing party. It found that if the current Economy Minister, Nir Barkat, would lead the Likud instead of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud would earn 21 seats, as opposed to the current prediction, which stands at 16. 

In this case, Gantz’s party would lose two seats while Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Religious Zionist Party would lose one seat each. 

With regards to a change of leadership in the National Unity Party, the poll showed that with Gadi Eisenkot at the helm, the party would receive 39 seats while Yesh Atid and Religious Zionism would lose one seat each.

Suitability as Prime Minister

When asked who is more suitable to serve as Prime Minister, the opinions favored the two National Unity Party candidates. Netanyahu received 30% of support versus Gantz’s 48% and 32% of support to Eisenkot's 45%. 

However, when confronted with Lapid, Netanyahu received 41% of support compared with Lapid's 36%.

The poll also found that 53% of the respondents believe Netanyahu’s main considerations in his wartime decision-making to be personal interests, compared to 33%, who think he has the country’s best interest at heart.