The Likud party has set its sights on winning 40 seats in the next Knesset election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at a conference of Likud mayors and local council heads held in Ramat Gan, in central Israel.
"In the upcoming municipal elections [on Oct. 30] we'll bolster the Likud nationwide. We'll do it thanks to the enormous support of the Israeli public, which sees our great achievements in the general [Knesset] election," Netanyahu said.
When asked about the status of the next Knesset election, currently scheduled to be held on Nov. 5, 2019, the prime minister said, "I don't know exactly when it will take place. Thirty-five seats is a reasonable number, [but] our goal is 40 – that's where we're aiming.
"God willing and with your help, the Likud faction will go sky-high. Good luck in the upcoming elections – we'll support you and help you. Let's see a big victory!"
The Likud has been the clear frontrunner in recent polls, which predict the party winning 30 to 33 seats. Polls conducted by the Likud party show it winning a higher number of seats.
Some political insiders have claimed that Netanyahu made his remarks, which were the opposite of the line he took in the previous election, warning that the Likud could lose control of the government, to send a signal to the coalition partners that he is not worried at the prospect of an early election that an early election could be prevented through a consensus agreement on the volatile issue of haredi military conscription.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu has been letting heads of coalition parties know that while he wants the next Knesset election to be held as close as possible to its scheduled date next November, he will not go into an election having failed to pass the haredi conscription bill. Therefore, he is asking the coalition partners to reach agreements on the issue during the upcoming recess, before the Knesset's winter session launches after the High Holidays.
