Hebrew University straw poll puts Labor at head of government

Shelly Yachimovich’s party and Meretz take top two spots, while Likud Beytenu falls to fourth in mock election

By Philip Podolsky 27 December 2012, 1:17 am

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Labor chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich casts her vote in Labor party primaries, November 30, 2012 (photo credit: Roni Schutzer/Flash90)

While nationwide surveys show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Yisrael Beytenu list cruising to an easy victory in next month’s elections, a straw poll held by students at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University Wednesday gave Labor’s Shelly Yachimovich first place.

The informal poll gave Labor 28.57 percent of the vote, and showed students leaning toward extremes rather than the political center.

Far-left party Meretz came in second with 22% of the ballot, followed by Naftali Bennett’s nationalist Jewish Home party, which garnered 16.42%. Likud-Beytenu only reached fourth place with 8.37%.

Current national polls show Likud Beytenu garnering some 35-37 seats, with Labor in second place with 17-19 seats and Jewish Home taking third with 13 spots. Meretz is not expected to get more than four seats.

Voting was held for six hours at the Mount Scopus and Givat Ram campuses, and was attended by 1,200 students, who voted for the first time using a computerized system.