Lapid-led social party could change political landscape

New survey shows Lapid could win 36 Knesset seats in next election.

By RUTH EGLASH
yair lapid 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
yair lapid 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The creation of a political party with a central social-affairs agenda and led by television personality and journalist Yair Lapid could garner a plurality of 36 Knesset seats in the next election, a survey published by the Geocartograpy Institute on Wednesday has revealed.
Conducted over the past few days, following Saturday night’s street protests across the country that brought out more than 400,000 Israelis angry over the increasing cost of living, the poll suggests that the social protests that started on July 14 could cause a significant change to the political make-up of the State of Israel.
Carried out by Prof. Avi Degani, president of the Geocartography Institute, the survey shows that any such new party could cause a big blow to the position of four large existing political parties, Kadima, Likud, Israel Beiteinu and Shas.
Shas would lose because more than 40 percent of those surveyed suggested that they would prefer a solely socialfocused party to the ultra- Orthodox Sephardi party.
According to the findings, if such a party did come to fruition, Kadima would like lose around 36% of its votes, Likud 25%, Labor 35%, Shas 42%, Habayit Hayehudi 22%, Meretz 20% and United Torah Judaism 6%; Israel Beiteinu would lose 36% and the National Union 8%.
“Of course we are only talking in theory and we need to remember that there is still not a strong political leader that could represent a party of this kind,” Degani said.
The survey also asked those interviewed who could possibly lead such a political platform.
Lapid came in first. After him, journalist-turned-Labor MK Shelly Yacimovich was seen as a possible candidate or even Students Union leader Itzhik Shmuly, whose powerful speech at Saturday night’s rally in Tel Aviv galvanized the protesters.