Large share of Israelis prefer holding new elections if no coalition formed, IDI survey shows

Israelis would prefer to hold new elections if a coalition is unable to be formed after the upcoming Knesset election, according to recent survey data released by the Israel Democracy Institute on Friday.

Over a third of Jewish Israelis, 37%, and 46% of Arab Israelis surveyed preferred new elections over the alternative options of forming a minority government or forming a unity government with rotation.

Only 25% of Jews and 23% of Arabs stated that forming a minority government was the best option, with 23% of Jews and 9% of Arabs favoring the formation of a unity government with rotation.

If a coalition were to be successfully formed, the largest share of Jewish respondents, 37%, said that they would like to see a broad coalition of Jewish Zionist parties form without Haredi parties.

A majority of all Arab Israelis surveyed, 71%, however, favored a coalition of Center and Left parties, with the support or participation of Arab parties. 

Only 14% of Jewish respondents shared the sentiment, making it the least preferable coalition for the demographic, according to IDI’s data.

The smallest share of Arab respondents, 2.5%, chose a coalition of the Right parties and Haredim as the preferred coalition, sharing the same view as 23% of Jewish participants.

No clear consensus on which bloc has highest chance of forming next government

When asked if the Right-Haredi bloc or the opposition bloc has a higher chance of forming the next government, there was no clear consensus among the total sample. 

The Right-Haredi bloc was perceived as having a higher chance by 27.5% of individuals surveyed. There was a large discrepancy between demographics on this prediction, with 7.5% of Arabs and 32% of Jews agreeing.

The opposition bloc was seen as having the most promising chance of forming a coalition among 31% of total respondents, with 29% of Jews and the majority of Arabs, 42%, sharing that view.

The majority of all respondents agreed that to increase the political stability of Israel’s government, the head of the party that receives the largest number of votes should automatically be appointed prime minister, with both Jewish Israelis, 63%, and Arab Israelis, 51%, agreeing.

Yashar's Eisenkot seen as easiest to accept option for prime minister

When it comes to specific candidates, IDI found that the largest share of both Jewish and Arab Israelis said it would be very or somewhat easy to accept Yashar party head Gadi Eisenkot as Israel’s next prime minister.

Among Jewish respondents, 56% said they would find it easy to accept Eisenkot and 40% said it would be very or somewhat hard to accept. Similarly, 55% of Arab respondents said it would be easy and only 29% said it would be hard.

B’Yachad head and former prime minister Naftali Bennett was the second most acceptable to both Jewish and Arab Israelis surveyed, being labeled so by 51.5% and 48% of each demographic, respectively. Bennett was seen as difficult to accept by 46% of Jews and 41.5% of Arabs.

Current Prime Minister and Likud party head Benjamin Netanyahu maintaining his office was the third easiest for Jewish Israelis to accept, with 44% of Jewish individuals surveyed holding that view. More than half of Jews, however, viewed Netanyahu as hard to accept.

For Arab Israelis, Netanyahu was seen as the least favorable option, with 84% of the demographic saying it would be very or somewhat hard to accept. Only 12.5% of Arab Israelis said they would find Netanyahu securing another term easy to accept.

Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman was seen as the most difficult to tolerate option for prime minister, with 60% of Jews and 66.5% of Arabs viewing him as hard to accept. Only 35% and 20% of each demographic, respectively, said it would be easy to accept Liberman assuming the office.

Across demographics, however, Israelis are approaching October 27 with cautious optimism, according to IDI.

Only 19% of total respondents agreed that Israel’s current situation would not change regardless of who one votes for, as opposed to previous years, when 29%-49% agreed with that sentiment.