Israelis view Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon, Environmental Protection
Minister Gilad Erdan and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz as the best-performing
ministers in the government, according to a poll for
The Jerusalem
Post.
They considered Interior Minister Eli Yishai the worst-performing
minister,
the poll shows, even before acute criticism was directed at him as the
minister in charge of the firefighters who struggled to extinguish the
conflagration in the Carmel.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE POLL SURVEY RESULTS (Premium)RELATED:MKs demand Yishai resign, debate government probeThe Smith Consulting poll of a
representative sample of 500 adult Israelis was carried out November 30-December
1 and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. It asked respondents to
grade the 30 ministers on a scale of one to 10, with one being the worst and 10
the best.
The ministers who scored the highest were Kahlon (6.97), Erdan
(6.6), Steinitz (5.98), Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog
(5.97), Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar (5.96) and Minister-without- Portfolio
Bennie Begin (5.93).
Respondents gave the worst grades to Yishai (4.4),
followed by his Shas ally Religious Services Minister Ya’acov Margi
(4.74).
The poll was taken at a time when Yishai was already receiving
bad press for targeting rebellious Shas MK Haim Amsalem, fighting to expel
foreign workers and taking unpopular positions on matters of religion and state.
After the fire broke out, Yishai faced even worse criticism, amid calls for
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to dismiss him.
Netanyahu was near the
top of the list at 5.90.
Further poll results, including findings on who
would get respondents’ votes if elections were held today, will be published in
the Post later this week.
Kahlon’s top rating was seen as connected to
his fight against the cellphone companies on behalf of consumers. The poll was
taken amid headlines praising Kahlon for his success in forcing the companies to
cut exit fees.
Erdan, who is considering an offer to become ambassador to
the United Nations, has been given credit for leading an environmental
revolution, an issue that is increasingly popular with Israelis.
The fact
that Steinitz has remained popular despite being finance minister is considered
an accomplishment.
Herzog was given a much better grade than his
competition for the Labor Party leadership, Defense Minister Ehud Barak (5.23)
and Minority Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman, who at 5.16 was one of the
least-popular ministers.
Begin, who has not taken any aides, is popular
with the public because of his honesty and his modesty.
“It is a good
feeling to be recognized by the public for the work you do,” Kahlon said in
response to the poll. “I will continue to work on behalf of the goals I set that
will increase competition in the communications market in Israel.”
Aides
to Erdan said he was extremely gratified that the public appreciated his work at
a ministry whose importance is becoming increasingly recognized.
Yishai’s
spokesman declined to comment.