The latest "Globes"-Geocartography poll finds Minister of Defense Labor Party leader Ehud Barak to be gaining popularity as a result of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Fully 48% of respondents said that their faith in him as a potential prime minister had risen or risen greatly because of his performance in the war.
If Barak hoped that merely being Minister of Defense would enhance his chances of regaining the premiership, the past couple of years would have disabused him, but now, while he probably cannot manage in the 30 days left to the elections to gain enough momentum to mount a serious challenge for the top post, he must stand a good chance of holding onto the defense portfolio in a government led by Kadima chairwoman and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni or Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.
Livni's tough stance on conditions for ending Operation Cast Lead seems to have paid off politically, with 40% of respondents saying their faith in her had risen or risen greatly. Nor has Netanyahu been left out. With no active role in the operation, he has still persuaded 30% of the respondents to say their faith in him has risen or risen greatly.
The poll was conducted yesterday among a representative sample of 500 interviewees from the adult Jewish population in Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 8, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009