The center-Left Blue and White party is worried that it is losing support among Russian-speaking Israelis, a new poll obtained by Israel Hayom indicates.
The poll, conducted by New Wave Research, shows that approximately one-third of the Russian speakers who voted for Blue and White in April will instead be voting for the Likud or Yisrael Beytenu in the Sept. 17 do-over election.
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In the April Knesset election, votes from Russian-speaking Israelis gave Blue and White three of the 35 seats the party won. The findings from the new poll could mean the loss of at least one seat for the party in September.
In contrast to the Likud, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proudly entrusted the party's Russian-language election campaign to MK Robert Ilatov, who was formerly Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman's right-hand man, and Olympic athlete Alex Averbuch, Blue and White has made a single member of its list – Yoel Razvozov, who holds the 18th slot on the party list – responsible for outreach to Russian-speakers.
The New Wave poll includes another interesting finding – that one-eighth of Russian-speaking voters say that if Razvozov were higher on the list, there would be more chance of their voting for Blue and White. This means that if Razvozov were moved up and Russian speakers voted accordingly, Blue and White could regain the seat it is currently in danger of losing.
However, one-fifth of the Russian speakers who voted for Blue and White said that if Razvozov were to leave Blue and White and join Yisrael Beytenu, they would be more likely to vote for Yisrael Beytenu, compared to one-eighth of Russian speakers who said if Razvozov left Blue and White for the Likud, they would be more likely to vote Likud.
Razvozov said that Blue and White must not "lose the Russian sector."
"We are and will continue to be an important player, because Russian speakers know that we can bring about change. This isn't the first time pollsters have asked [respondents] about me. I've gotten many serious offers from [other] parties, but I'm an inseparable part of Blue and White," he said.
"Some claim that the game for the Russian vote is between Yisrael Beytenu and the Likud, and I helped bring Blue and White good results from the Russian field in the last election. As far as it depends on me, I'll do everything I can, because we are an alternative to the party in power," Razvozov said.
