{
  "id": 14885202,
  "title": "Majority of Israelis favor unity government if October 27 election ends without clear winner - poll",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/majority-of-israelis-favor-unity-government-if-october-27-election",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T06:22:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-911902"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "According to a recent poll by Maariv and Lazar Research, the majority of Israelis would prefer a unity government over another election if the upcoming vote on October 27 fails to produce a clear result, with only 27% favoring another election. However, there are significant differences between the opposition and coalition blocs. A majority (54%) of opposition voters would only support a unity government led by a leader from their bloc, while coalition voters were more divided, with nearly 40% preferring a unity government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and 32% opting for another election if deadlock persists.\n\nThe poll also found that 48% of respondents believed Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot would make a better prime minister than incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had 41% support, giving Eisenkot a significant lead over Netanyahu. Support was tied between Netanyahu and B Yachad leader Naftali Bennett at 43% each, while Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman had 37% support.\n\nOverall, 79% of Israelis expressed optimism that their bloc would win the election, compared to 21% who were pessimistic. Among coalition voters, 90% were optimistic about winning, while only 75% of opposition voters had positive expectations. Despite Likud's two-seat drop, the coalition bloc only lost one seat, falling to 51, due to gains by United Torah Judaism and People of Israel. However, the opposition bloc lost one seat, dropping to 51, as Yisrael Beytenu lost one seat, leaving both blocs tied.",
  "summary": "The Maariv poll also found that 48% of people think Gadi Eisenkot would make a better prime minister than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had 41% support, giving Eisenkot a significant lead.",
  "key_points": [
    "Majority of Israelis favor unity government if October 27 election ends without clear winner.",
    "Opposition voters prefer unity government led by their bloc leader, coalition voters divided.",
    "Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot preferred by 48% over incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The preference for a unity government signals a national desire to avoid political deadlock, even as deep divisions persist regarding which bloc should lead a potential coalition.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}