Olmert’s Kadima dips in Israel poll, Likud gains

By Allyn Fisher-Ilan

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Support for Israeli interim Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party has dipped to its lowest
point in months, an opinion poll published Wednesday on the
Haaretz newspaper’s Web site showed.

The survey showed the centrist faction winning 37 seats in
the 120-member parliament, down from 39 a week ago and a peak
of 44 in late January, with the rightist Likud and left-wing
Labour parties closing the gap, though still far behind.

The poll, conducted jointly with Channel 10 television,
showed Labour steady from a week ago with 19 seats, and Likud
at 15, up from 14.

Haaretz suggested the poll, taken on Tuesday, had been
influenced by reports of a real estate deal by Olmert,
regarding which the state comptroller found on Wednesday there
had been no wrongdoing.

Kadima was founded by Ariel Sharon, when he left Likud in
November to free his hand for peace deals and capitalize on the
popularity of a Gaza pullout, ahead of a March 28 general
election.

Olmert assumed power after Sharon fell into a coma from a
January 4 stroke. He has largely enjoyed the fruits of
ex-general Sharon’s popularity.

The latest poll was Kadima’s worst showing since November,
when initial surveys predicted it would win 33 seats, a figure
that climbed steadily for weeks, peaking after Sharon’s fell
ill, then leveling off at about 40.

Kamil Fuchs, an Israeli professor who oversaw the poll,
said on television that “Kadima is soft at its margins,”
suggesting its supporters include a significant number of
wavering voters.

Likud’s bounce back from a low point of just a dozen seats
some weeks ago, down from a current 40 in parliament, followed
an upset victory by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which has
vowed to destroy Israel, in a January 23 Palestinian election.

Netanyahu, a former premier who opposed the Gaza pullout,
said he hoped to gain more support after the party voted on
Wednesday to have the entire party membership choose election
candidates, instead of the cliquish central committee.

“We are at a turning point,” Netanyahu said. Appealing to
party members who had defected with Sharon to Kadima, he added:
“Come back home, only a strong Likud can ensure a strong
Israel.”

An embattled Olmert complained at a rally of what he called
a “brutal smear campaign” by his rivals, alluding to media
charges he had sold his home in a posh district of Jerusalem
for an above-market price.

Olmert thanked State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss for a
speedy probe that cleared him of wrongdoing. The comptroller
said in a report on Wednesday that the $2.7 million sale last
year was above board and the price within reason.