Angus Reid Global Scan : Polls & Research Most Likud Members Support Netanyahu April 10, 2006 (Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many members of Israel’s Likud party would keep their current leader, according to a poll by Maagar Mochot. 49 per cent of respondents would like former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stay in his position, while 26 per cent would prefer former foreign minister Silvan Shalom. On Mar. 28, Israeli voters renewed the Knesset. The Kadima party, led by acting prime minister Ehud Olmert, secured 29 seats and has received the mandate to form a government. During the campaign, Olmert warned that parties that would not support his plan for a further withdrawal in the West Bank "cannot be a part of the coalition’s agenda." Likud won 12 seats. Netanyahu lamented his party’s poor showing, calling it a "body blow" but told supporters, "In the course of time, we will be proven right. We know that our path to achieve security and peace is the right path." Netanyahu - who resigned from the Israeli cabinet after opposing the "Disengagement Plan" outlined by prime minister Ariel Sharon last year - won the Likud primary election in December 2005. Polling Data Methodology: Interviews with 500 Likud party members, conducted on Mar. 30, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent. |
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