Israel Matzav

65% of Israelis want new elections

For some reason, the JPost has not put yesterday's editorial online yet. So I'm going to copy from the print edition, which I have at home. Bottom line: 65% of Israelis want new elections if Olmert resigns and 57% of them want Olmert to resign:

In a nationwide poll published in the Yisrael Hayom daily yesterday, 57 percent of the public said Olmert should resign compared to 25% who said he should not. In addition, when asked what it preferred if Olmert were to resign, 65% of our extremely election-averse public said it wanted new elections, compared to 23% who preferred a new leader from Kadima. And all this is after much of the media had portrayed the Winograd Committee's final report, issued Wednesday, as having exonerated Olmert.

The editorial goes on to slam Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni for their unwillingness to bring Olmert down.

Here are some results from other surveys in yesterday's Israeli newspapers:

Haaretz-Dialog poll of 492 adult Israelis (including Israeli Arabs) conducted 31 January, 2008 supervised by Professor Camille Fuchs of Tel Aviv University
Statistical error +/- 4.5 percentage points.

What should Prime Minister Ehud Olmert do?
Resign 53% Remain and fix failings 37% Don't know 10%

What should Barak do?
Total: Remain in Government 36% Resign and push for elections 36% Call for replacing Olmert 14% Don't know 14%

Dahaf poll of 493 adult Israelis (including Israeli Arabs) conducted 31 January, 2008 for Yediot Ahronot.
Statistical error +/- 4.5 percentage points.

Should Ehud Barak and the Labor Party leave the Government?
Total: Yes 52% No 42% No reply 6%
Of Labor supporters: Yes 31% No 66% No reply 3%

...

Do you think that the IDF has learned the lessons of the war?
Yes 75% No 20% No reply 18%

Do you think that Ehud Olmert has learned the lesson of the war?
Yes 43% No 55% no reply 2%

Teleseker poll of an unknown sample apparently carried out after the Winograd Report was released the week of 1 February.

In light of everything you have heard about the conclusions of the Winograd Committee should Olmert resign?
Yes 65% No 29%

Do you count on the IDF?
Yes 80% No 18%

Of the following who is most appropriate to be prime minister?
Olmert 14% Netanyahu 37.5% Barak 19.1% None of them 27.3%
Livni 18.3% Netanyahu 39.1% Barak 18.3% None of them 21%

If Olmert doesn't resign in the wake of the Report how should the chairman
of the Labor Party, Ehud Barak, act?
25% Continue serving as defense minister in Olmert Government
24% Continue serving as defense minister in Olmert government while setting an agreed date for new elections in around a year
12% Demand that the Kadima faction replace Olmert with Livni or another Kadima candidate as a condition for remaining in the Government
34% Leave the Government and cause new elections

There's no word from Ehud Barak yet.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:14 PM