Premier Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon have sustained relatively small declines in popularity since the west Beirut massacre despite intense criticism leveled against them in Israel, the latest public opinion poll shows.
The poll, conducted for the monthly magazine Moniton by the Dahaf Research Institute, found Begin’s popularity rating down from 82 percent to 72 percent since the beginning of September. Unfavorable opinion rose in that period from 15 to 27 percent. Sharon dropped in the polls from 78 to 64 percent favorable. His unfavorable rating increased from 17 to 35 percent.
The poll indicated that if elections were held now, Likud would win 55 Knesset seats, six fewer than it now holds, and the Labor Alignment would gain five seats for a total of 43. Likud would still be the majority party and would be able to govern with the six seats of the National Religious Party making up its loss.
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