Israel's Labour party drops further in polls

Israel’s opposition Labour party today dropped further in three opinion polls, just five days ahead of the country’s general election.

The dovish Labour party even appeared to be in danger of falling into third place behind the upstart Shinui faction.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s right-wing Likud party remained steady as the largest party, making it likely he will head the next government.

Sharon wants to renew his alliance with the centre-left Labour after the vote, but Labour leader Amram Mitzna has said his party will not join such a coalition.

Polls published today in the Haaretz, Maariv and Yediot Ahronot newspapers showed Labour would only win 18 to 19 seats in the 120-member parliament, down from the 26 it holds today.

The moderate Shinui is expected almost to triple its current six seats. The three surveys indicated the party, led by former journalist Yosef Lapid, could win from 15 to 17 mandates.

Lapid, who wants to keep religious parties out of the government, says he will only join a Labour-Likud coalition, a constellation popular with Israeli voters in times of crisis.

Labour led the country from its establishment in 1948 until the mid-70s, and while its strength has ebbed and flowed, it has never slipped beyond second place in parliament.

In this campaign, Labour has been dropping in the polls, except for a brief spike of support amid corruption allegations against Sharon and Likud.

Eighteen seats would be a resounding defeat for Labour, currently the largest party in the parliament. Many Israelis blame Labour for failed peace talks with the Palestinians.

During much of the past 28 months of fighting with the Palestinians, Labour was Likud’s junior partner, blurring the ideological differences between the two.

According to the three surveys, Likud would win between 31 and 34 seats. Likud seems to have recovered following corruption allegations, after plummeting briefly to 28 seats at the height of the scandals earlier this month.