For the last two weeks, the Likud Party has been treating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress as the decisive moment in the party’s election campaign. It hopes that the speech will stop the trickling away of seats, with the latest polls indicating that the Likud is approaching the 20-seat line. If it dips below that in the March 17 elections, it's safe to assume that Netanyahu will not be the next prime minister.
Meanwhile, according to preliminary surveys, Netanyahu’s momentary takeover of the national agenda, by diverting attention from the housing crisis and the scandal surrounding his official residence on Balfour Street to Iran’s nuclear program instead, managed to stop votes seeping away from the Likud and apparently even slightly strengthen it. A Channel 10 survey show between the Zionist Camp with 23 seats — and the Likud also with 23.
