The left-wing bloc could win as many as 60 seats in an election without Yisrael Beytenu, according to a new Channel 13 poll published Tuesday evening. A second Channel 13 poll, which examined how the election would play out if former Likud minister Gideon Sa'ar were to serve as head of the Likud, is predicting an electoral picture similar to the current Knesset.
According to Channel 13, if the election were held today, Blue and White – which announced Monday that in the event of a third election, it would not be running under a rotating leadership and would unite under leader Benny Gantz – would win 37 seats, compared to 33 for the Likud. The Joint Arab List would be the third-largest faction, with 13 seats, followed by Yisrael Beytenu (eight) and United Torah Judaism, with seven seats.
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The poll projected six seats each for Shas and the New Right, and five seats each for Labor-Gesher and the Democratic Union.
In the second poll, which tried to determine how Sa'ar as head of the Likud would influence voting, also gave Blue and White the largest number of seats – 35 – while the Likud dropped to a projected 29.
The second poll also predicted 13 seats for the Joint Arab List and eight seats for Yisrael Beytenu, with seven seats each for United Torah Judaism, Shas, and the New Right.
Respondents were also asked who should be held responsible if the country is forced to hold a third election. Some 41% blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with 26% saying that Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman was responsible. Only 5% saw Gantz as responsible for the political impasse.
