MIDDLE EAST: Opinion polls in Israel yesterday showed growing frustration with prime minister Ehud Olmert and pointed to the rise of political right-wingers in the wake of the war in Lebanon.
In a poll in the Ha'aretz newspaper, Mr Olmert's approval rating fell to 22 per cent, compared with 48 per cent six weeks ago, just before the end of the conflict with Hizbullah. Support for defence minister Amir Peretz, the Labour Party leader, who has also been criticised over the war, fell to 14 per cent from 37 per cent over the same period. Critics have rounded on the government for failing to emerge from the conflict with a convincing victory.
The polls showed a clear shift to the right. Mr Olmert's biggest potential challenger appears to be the former prime minister and senior Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who scored a 58 per cent approval rating in the survey.
The poll was conducted by a professor at Tel Aviv University and 507 people were questioned.
A second opinion poll, in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, also showed Mr Netanyahu ahead.