Netanyahu Loses Lead in Polls Ahead of Israeli Election
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Uriel Sinai/Getty images(JERUSALEM) — With just five days to go until Israelis cast their votes in the country’s general election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bump in the polls has completely evaporated.
Instead of leading or running neck and neck with his left-wing rival Isaac Herzog, the prime minister is now trailing behind by three points.
Both left- and right-leaning media polls show Netanyahu’s Likud party has taken a serious hit, dropping down to 21 seats while Herzog’s Zionist Union party is coming in at 24.
Just as significant, the smaller center-left parties — the ones that could block Netanyahu from forming a government even if his Likud party loses — are also showing gains in the polls.
In yet another blow, Herzog has picked up the endorsement of Israel’s former president, Shimon Peres.
When Israelis head to the polls to elect a new government next Tuesday, they won’t choose a candidate, as is practice in the U.S. Instead, they’ll choose a party. The leader of the party that wins is often the one who becomes prime minister after the president asks him or her to form a government.
In order for Netanyahu to win a fourth term in office, his Likud party needs to come out on top.
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