Likud to lose seats, right bloc to gain if Sa'ar takes the reins - poll

Blue and White will win 35 seats and the Likud Party will win 31 seats if Netanyahu continues to lead the Likud, a new poll has shown.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Likud MK Gideon Sa'ar speaks at The Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, November 24, 2019 (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST/ SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/POOL VIA REUTERS)
Likud MK Gideon Sa'ar speaks at The Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, November 24, 2019
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST/ SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/POOL VIA REUTERS)
The Likud Party will lose four seats if MK Gideon Sa'ar takes over as leader of the party, but the right-wing bloc will get stronger compared to a situation in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stays in power in the upcoming Knesset elections in March, according to a new poll by Kan news.
Blue and White will win 35 seats and the Likud Party will win 31 seats if Netanyahu continues to lead the Likud.
The Joint List will be the third largest party with 13 seats, followed by Shas with 9 seats, Yisrael Beytenu with 8 seats, UTJ with 7 seats, the New Right and Labor-Gesher with 6 seats each, and the Democratic Union with 5 seats. The United Right Parties and Otzma Yehudit will not pass the threshold, according to the poll.
The right-wing block would end up with 53 seats and the left-center bloc would end up with 46 seats, excluding the Joint List and Yisrael Beytenu, in this case.
If Gideon Sa'ar takes the reins of the Likud Party, Blue and White will drop to 34 seats while the Likud will drop to 27 seats.
The third largest party would be the Joint List with 13 seats, followed by Shas with 10 seats, UTJ with 8 seats, Yisrael Beytenu and the New Right with 7 seats each, Labor-Gesher and the Democratic Union with 5 seats each, and the United Right Parties with 4 seats. Otzma Yehudit will not pass the threshold, according to the poll.
The right-wing block would end up with 56 seats and the left-center bloc would end up with 44 seats, excluding the Joint List and Yisrael Beytenu, in this case.
The poll finds that if Sa'ar leads the Likud, then the party would lose four seats, although the right-wing bloc would then gain three seats. Blue and White and Labor-Gesher have only expressed opposition to joining a Likud government if it is led by Netanyahu.