Israel Coalition Drops to 49 Mandates as Opposition Gains Ground in New Poll
A new Maariv poll shows Israel's governing coalition dropping to 49 mandates while the opposition rises to 55. Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett both lead Netanyahu in suitability for prime minister.
A new poll published by Maariv reveals a significant shift in Israel's political landscape, showing the governing coalition dropping to a historic low of 49 mandates due to a gradual weakening of ultra-Orthodox parties. Meanwhile, the opposition bloc has strengthened to 55 mandates ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections.
Mandate Distribution and Leading Parties
According to the Lazar Research poll conducted with Panel4ALL, the Yashar! party led by Gadi Eisenkot remains the largest faction in the Knesset despite losing a mandate, coming in at 22 seats. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party holds steady in second place with 18 mandates.
"The ongoing erosion of coalition factions highlights a growing disconnect between public sentiment and current governmental policies," noted political analysts following the survey release.
Coalition Challenges and Opposition Gains
The BeYachad joint list led by Naftali Bennett maintains 13 mandates, while The Democrats led by Yair Golan rise to 11 seats. Yisrael Beytenu led by Avigdor Lieberman and Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben Gvir both secure 9 mandates each. Ultra-Orthodox factions Shas and United Torah Judaism have dropped to 6 seats each, severely impacting the coalition's baseline.
Suitability for Prime Minister
When evaluating leadership suitability, opposition figures maintain strong leads over Netanyahu. Gadi Eisenkot leads the incumbent prime minister by 8%, securing 47% support compared to Netanyahu's 39%. Naftali Bennett also outperforms Netanyahu with 46% against 42%. However, Netanyahu maintains a narrow 3% lead over Avigdor Lieberman, polling at 43% to 40%.
