With only 10 until the mandate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been given to form a government expires, a poll by a leading news show found Saturday that 54% of Israelis prefer a coalition supported in some way by the Islamist Ra'am party than a fifth election campaign, and 43% believe that if general elections would be called again it would be Netanyahu's fault.
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Only 25% of the respondents said holding another election was preferable to a government that was endorsed by Ra'am or including it in its ranks. Twenty-one percent said they had no opinion on the matter.
The survey, by the Midgam Polling Institute for Meet the Press, which airs on Channel 12, included 504 participants and has a statistical margin of error of 4.4%.
The poll found that 37% of the public wants to see Netanyahu head a right-wing bloc endorsed by Ra'am while 40% said the better option would be a power-sharing deal between Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Yamina head Naftali Bennett, with Ra'am's endorsement.
Were elections called again, the poll found that Likud would retain its power, winning 30 seats. Yesh Atid would also hold solid with 19 mandates, followed by Labor (8), Yamina (7), Blue and White (7) Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas (7), Ashkenazi Haredi party United Torah Judaism (7), the Joint Arab List (6), Religious Zionist Party (6), New Hope (5), Meretz (5), and Ra'am (4).
These results give the Center-Left bloc 47 seats and the right-wing bloc 52, with Yamina and Ra'am holding on to their positions as the factions that could shift the political balance of power.
The poll further found that the majority of Israelis would hold Netanyahu responsible if a fifth election is called in the span of two years.
In the event the public once again has to go to the polls, 43% said Netanyahu would be to blame, 15% said they would hold Bennett responsible, 12% named New Hope leader Gideon Sa'ar as the culprit, 6% said Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich would be to blame, 5% pointed the finger at various other political figures, and 12% said they had no opinion on the matter.
In the event Netanyahu would relinquish his position as the leader of the Likud parties, 26% of respondents said former Jerusalem Mayor-turned-Likud MK would be best suited to replace him, 10% favored UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan as the best replacement, 8% named Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, 5% opted for Finance Minister Israel Katz, 3% chose Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, and a mere 1% said Transportation Minister Miri Regev should lead Likud.
The public was also very reluctant of the possibility Netanyahu would be elected president following the end of President Reuven Rivlin's term in office this summer.
Some 53% said they would "absolutely oppose" such a move, and only 11% said they would "absolutely support" a presidential role for Netanyahu.
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