Ehud Olmert would be crushed by his rivals for top office if Israeli elections were held now, a television poll found. Results of the Channel 10 survey broadcast Wednesday showed that the Israeli prime minister would take only 3 percent of votes if early elections were called. By contrast, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the opposition leader, would win 30 percent.
Behind Netanyahu in popularity were likely Labor Party candidates Ami Ayalon and Ehud Barak, who scored 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Avigdor Lieberman, the strategic affairs minister from the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, was seen picking up 7 percent. The only potential rival found to be less popular than Olmert was Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who like the prime minister is widely perceived in Israel as having mishandled last year’s Lebanon war. Peretz, the Labor leader, was seen with 1 percent of votes.
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