'Post' poll shows mergers capable of bringing down Netanyahu

• Published date: 07 January 2021
• Date: 07 January 2021
• Author: GIL HOFFMAN

If both of those mergers take place, the Likud would win 31 seats, New Hope-Yamina 29, Yesh Atid-Israelis 22, the Joint List 11, Shas and United Torah Judaism 8 each, Yisrael Beytenu 6 and Meretz 5. The presumption in the poll was that the New Hope-Yamina merger would be led by Gideon Sa'ar and the Yesh Atid-Israelis bond by Yair Lapid.

By contrast, if neither of those mergers happen and the list of parties remains as it is now, a poll taken by Panels showed that the Likud would win 28 seats, New Hope 18, Yesh Atid 14, Yamina 13 and the Joint List 10 each, Shas 8, UTJ 7, Yisrael Beytenu 7, the Israelis Party 6, Meretz 5 and Blue and White 4.

Another option checked by the first poll was the impact of Bezalel Smotrich running separately from Naftali Bennett's Yamina. Smotrich changed the name of his National Union on Wednesday to the Religious Zionist Party.

The poll found that Yamina would not be harmed at all by such a move, while Smotrich would have a tough time crossing the threshold.

Blue and White, Labor and the new parties of former accountant-general Yaron Zelekha and former Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah would not cross the 3.25% electoral threshold in any of the three scenarios in the...