Word: likud
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Talmon's harsh judgment is apparently shared by many of his countrymen. According to a public opinion poll published last week by the Jerusalem Post, Begin's right-wing Likud coalition would be easily ousted from power by the opposition Labor Party if the elections were held today. (They are not scheduled until October 1981.) Reaching similar conclusions, Pollster Mina Zemach attributed Begin's dramatic drop in popularity largely to domestic issues, but the settlement policy was clearly a factor: 50% of those polled were opposed to allowing Jews to settle in the Arab city of Hebron...
...religious party, had joined the Begin bloc in exchange for the Premier's support of its campaign to limit abortions. A motion to tighten the country's laws on the matter was defeated in a tie vote, 54-54, when four members of Begin's own Likud Party voted against it. Agudat Israel huffed that its four Knesset members might desert the coalition, thus leaving Begin with a precarious two-vote majority in the 120-seat house. It is a sign of the Begin coalition's failing fortunes that after his election two years...
...same day, the government removed the subsidies for cooking oil and other household products, and prices for those items jumped by 50%. During a stormy session of the Knesset, where the ruling Likud coalition now has a majority of only six seats, Begin survived a series of no-confidence motions. But observers were predicting that it was only a matter of time before the beleaguered Premier would be obliged to call new elections...
Since then, Dayan has chafed at the performance of the Israeli delegation under Interior Minister Yosef Burg, a hardliner who was chosen to placate the National Religious Party and other right-wing members of the Likud coalition. The Foreign Minister, as Dayan acidly put it, was left to handle such marginal matters as "cocktails and ceremonies." He had played a vital role in the negotiations that led to the Camp David accords last year, and he reacted angrily to being on the sidelines this time. Even if he had not resigned, Dayan would not have attended last week...
...immediately called for Begin himself to resign and hold new elections. Although Begin is highly unlikely to take that course, his position is seriously weakened. Not only does Dayan have a considerable personal following, but other recent defections have narrowed the parliamentary majority of Begin's patchwork conservative Likud coalition from 78 to 63 out of 120 seats...