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Poll says Israelis are pleased with Labor's domestic
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JIB
'1E1
ey findings in a new poll
suggest that with 16
months to go before the na-
tional elections, Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin has re-
gained public confidence, largely
because Palestinian terrorism
has abated in the last 10 weeks.
By contrast, Likud leader
Binyamin Netanyahu's public
standing has fallen.
In addition, Israelis think high-
ly of the government for its
domestic achievements, but
would prefer to vote for right-
wing parties because of their
lingering dissatisfaction with the
peace process.
These results were contained
in an unusually comprehensive
set of public opinion surveys con-
ducted in late June by Israel's
leading pollster, Dr. Mina
Tsemach.
The findings, presented on Is-
rael Television, showed that in a
head-to-head race for prime min-
ister, Mr. Rabin would now edge
Mr. Netanyahu, 39 percent to 38
percent. This marks a sharp turn-
around; in the early part of the
year, when terror was raging
through the country, Mr. Ne-
tanyahu was running ahead by
as much as 10 percent,
Ms. Tsemach said.
While Mr. Rabin won the
choice for prime minister by only
the slightest of margins, he fin-
ished far ahead of Mr. Netanyahu
when respondents were asked to
compare their leadership abili-
ties.
Asked who was the better
negotiator, 50 percent chose Mr.
Rabin, 25 percent Mr. Netan-
yahu. The prime minister was
considered more persuasive than
the Likud leader, by a 43-34 per-
cent margin. Mr. Rabin also fin-
ished well ahead on credibility
(42-28), personal honesty (43-26)
and in ability to withstand pres-
sure (41-34).
Explaining why the polls
showed Mr. Rabin way out in
front of Mr. Netanyahu in the
public's regard, yet barely win-
ning the prime ministerial vote,
Ms. Tsemach noted that the polls
also showed that the Likud is
more popular than Labor. "The
vote for prime minister is strong-
ly influenced by the party the can-
didate belongs to. Mr. Rabin is
pulling Labor along on his coat-
tails, while Mr. Netanyahu is be-
ing pulled along on the Likud's
coattails," she said. •
Dan Meridor of Likud ac-
ler 'S
ve.
knowledged that Mr. Ne-
tanyahu's standing had been hurt
by two of his recent, high-profile
political moves — to join with the
Arab parties against the govern-
ment over the planned East
Jerusalem land expropriations,
which resulted in their cancel-
lation; and his hard-line approach
to party rival David Levy's polit-
ical demands, which led Mr. Levy
and his supporters to split from
Likud.
In Mr. Netanyahu's defense,
Mr. Meridor also said: "Yitzhak
Rabin holds the position of prime
minister, and there's no doubt
that whoever starts from that
position has a great advantage.
The public needs time to get used
to a new leader."
Israelis' opinion of the govern-
ment's performance, and their
voting preferences for the politi-
cal parties, were sharply contra-
dictory.
Sixty percent rated the gov-
ernment "good," 40 percent "not
good." Environment Minister
Yossi Sarid was jubilant about
While Mr. Rabin won
the choice for prime
minister by the
slightest of margins,
he finished far
ahead of Mr.
Netanyahu for
leadership ability.
this result, saying, "1 don't know
of another government in the de-
mocratic world that is in such
good shape after three years in
power."
Yet the Labor-Meretz govern-
ment and its Arab party sup-
porters, which presently have a
bare 61-seat majority in the
Knesset, would only get 53 seats
if the vote were held today, the
polls found. The Likud would be
more likely to form the govern-
ment.
The Rabin administration rat-
ed very highly on domestic issues
such as education, infrastructure
development, health and immi-
grant absorption. But its conduct
of the peace process with the
Palestinians was rated poor by
51 percent, and respondents
voted thumbs down on its
•