Polls show Sa’ar at 15-18 seats, remaking map and possibly unseating Netanyahu
(Worthy News) – A day after he announced his departure from Likud and the formation of a new political party to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the country’s leadership, Gideon Sa’ar was off to an extraordinarily strong start Wednesday. Polls on Israel’s three major news networks forecast his nascent New Hope party getting between 15 and 18 seats if the country goes to elections — shaking up the political landscape and introducing several potential paths to coalitions that do not include Netanyahu, while seriously narrowing the premier’s path to leading the next government.
A notable caveat in reading these polls is that the parties are far from set for the elections shaping up to take place in March. Additional new parties, as well as splits and mergers of existing ones, will no doubt be coming as the nation gears up for its fourth vote in two years — and polls will fluctuate accordingly.
What’s more, the elections are not yet certain: A Knesset committee on Wednesday advanced a bill to dissolve parliament and set a March 16, 2021 election date, but the bill must still clear three readings in the plenum, and Netanyahu and his Blue and White partner-rival Benny Gantz could yet agree a compromise to stave off a return to the polls. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]