Full Breakdown
Israeli Voters Split on Coalition Types and Prime-Minister Choices Ahead of 2026 Election
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Survey Overview and Timing
The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) released a public-opinion survey on the Friday before the campaign period for the upcoming Knesset election. The survey was conducted while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was touring the Hatikva Market in Tel Aviv on October 22, 2026 as part of the Likud campaign, and it looks ahead to the scheduled election on October 27.
Preferred Coalition Configurations
When asked what should happen if a governing coalition cannot be formed, 37 % of Jewish Israelis and 46 % of Arab Israelis said they would prefer new elections rather than a minority or unity government. Only 25 % of Jews and 23 % of Arabs favored a minority government, while 23 % of Jews and 9 % of Arabs supported a rotating unity government.
If a coalition were to be formed, the most popular option among Jews (37 %) was a broad coalition of Jewish Zionist parties that excludes Haredi parties. Among Arab respondents, a clear majority (71 %) preferred a centre-left coalition that includes Arab parties. The right-Haredi bloc was the least attractive to both groups, chosen by 14 % of Jews and 2.5 % of Arabs.
Perceptions of which bloc is most likely to form a government were divided: 27.5 % of all respondents saw the Right-Haredi bloc as having the higher chance (32 % of Jews, 7.5 % of Arabs), while 31 % viewed the opposition bloc as more promising (29 % of Jews, 42 % of Arabs). A majority of both Jews (63 %) and Arabs (51 %) agreed that the party receiving the most votes should automatically have its leader appointed prime minister.
Acceptance of Prime-Minister Candidates
The survey asked how easy it would be to accept various leaders as prime minister. The head of the Yashar party, Gadi Eisenkot, was the most acceptable, with 56 % of Jews and 55 % of Arabs saying they would find him easy to accept. The former prime minister Naftali Bennett (B’Yachad) was next, deemed acceptable by 51.5 % of Jews and 48 % of Arabs.
Current prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was viewed as easy to accept by 44 % of Jews, but more than half of Jewish respondents found him hard to accept, and 84 % of Arab Israelis said they would find him very or somewhat hard to accept (only 12.5 % said it would be easy). The head of Yisrael Beytenu, Avigdor Liberman, was the least tolerable, judged hard to accept by 60 % of Jews and 66.5 % of Arabs (easy for 35 % of Jews and 20 % of Arabs).
Potential Impact on Government Formation
The IDI data show a fragmented electorate with no clear consensus on either the preferred coalition composition or the most acceptable prime-minister candidate. While a sizable share of respondents favor new elections, many also express optimism about the upcoming vote, noting that Israelis are approaching October 27 with “cautious optimism.” The lack of agreement on which bloc is most likely to succeed and the strong desire for an automatic appointment of the party leader with the most votes suggest that coalition negotiations will remain complex and that public expectations may influence post-election bargaining.