New Israeli liberal right-wing party would win eight seats, ‘Post’ poll finds

If the party were to be led by former communications minister Yoaz Hendel, the party would win six seats, rather than eight.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a weekly cabinet meeting, March 12, 2023. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a weekly cabinet meeting, March 12, 2023.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

If an election were held today, a new liberal right-wing party would win eight seats, according to a new poll by Panels Politics commissioned by The Jerusalem Post.

These seats would mostly come at the expense of the current opposition, as two would come from Yesh Atid, two from National Unity, two from voters who are uncertain, one from the Likud and one from a mix of the rest of the existing parties.

If said liberal right-wing party would be led by former communications minister Yoaz Hendel, the party would receive six seats, the poll found. In this scenario, the current coalition would receive 55 seats and the current opposition 59.

The new party would receive strong support from people who describe themselves as traditional, and people over age 61, the poll showed. Only 3.4% of 18-29 year-olds would support the party, as opposed to 8% aged 61 or older.

No majority found in new Israeli political poll

In such a scenario, election results would be Likud 27, Yesh Atid 24, National Unity 16, Shas 10, new liberal right-wing party 8, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) 7, Otzma Yehudit 6, Religious Zionist Party (RZP) 5, Hadash-Ta’al 5, Meretz 4, Yisrael Beytenu 4 and Ra’am 4. Labor would not cross the electoral threshold.

The current coalition would receive 55 seats and the current opposition including Meretz would receive 57.

Israeli minister of Communications Yoaz Hendel attends a discussion at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on June 15, 2022. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Israeli minister of Communications Yoaz Hendel attends a discussion at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on June 15, 2022. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

If such a party does not form, Likud would win 28 seats, Yesh Atid 26, National Unity 19 and both Yisrael Beytenu and Meretz five. The rest would remain identical, and the current opposition would have 64 seats, versus 56 for the current coalition.

The poll was conducted on March 22-23 among 713 respondents with a margin of error of 3.7%.