If it’s us vs them, it’s Bibi time

Mazal Tov! Today’s graph breaks a record. For the first time, the Likud- Right-Religious bloc touches the 70 mandates bar. (The exact estimates are 69.5 mandates and 50.5 mandates for the Right-Religious and the Center-Left blocs, respectively). And what’s more depressing for the Center-Left bloc is that the event occurs a week after the parties and their candidates registered, and no more changes are allowed before Election Day. The clock is ticking, and we are exactly six weeks away from the election. On the bright side (for the center-left), the election campaign just begun and who knows what else is going to happen?

Our new Poll Trend tracker (Prof. Camil Fuchs is, as always, the brains behind the numbers) is based on all polls published over the past week. Take a look at the Likud-Right-Religious bloc and the Center-Left bloc. The graph is followed by some comments:

construction in E-1 was front and center, and the uproar as the world rallied against plans to build in this area made the headlines. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman gave the perfect example of the us-against-them agenda by former defense minister Amir Peretz for that very reason (it is reasonable to argue that this was Peretz’ excuse, not his reason – but she handed him such an excuse to be used convincingly). And her total concentration on social issues makes her much less of a candidate for the Prime Minister’s Office than her main left-of-center rival, Tzipi Livni.

(Key: 1 – National Union and Jewish Home together)