Israeli PM's approval ratings drop to 14 pct -poll
Source: Reuters
JERUSALEM, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's approval ratings have slipped to 14 percent and his centrist Kadima party would lose nearly two-thirds of its strength if new elections were held, a poll showed on Friday. Olmert's government has been dogged by repeated political scandals and criticism over last summer's inconclusive war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group. An Israeli television report earlier this week said police would question Olmert in an investigation into the sale of a bank and appointments to a business authority. He has denied any wrongdoing in the various scandals that have battered his government in recent months. The latest poll, published in the Haaretz newspaper, showed Olmert's approval ratings have dropped to 14 percent. Recent polls showed Olmert with approval ratings just over 20 percent. If fresh elections were held, Kadima would win 12 seats in the Israeli parliament while Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud would win 29 seats, the Haaretz poll showed. Kadima currently has 29 seats. A government-appointed commission is looking into the way Olmert, Defence Minister Amir Peretz and the armed forces handled the conflict in Lebanon.
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