Last update - 00:00 03/01/2007
Poll: 77 percent of Israelis find fault with Olmert's leadership
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent
Some 77 percent of Israelis give Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's leadership a failing grade, according to the results of a Dahaf Institute poll released Wednesday, a year after Olmert took over from stricken premier Ariel Sharon.
The poll found that 60 percent of those polled believe that Olmert himself has given a poor performance as prime minister, and only 30 percent ranked his performance as good.
Regarding his decision-making abilities, 75 percent of respondents said that Olmert had poor decision-making skills, while just 24 percent said that he was competent in this area.
On his ability to perform well under pressure, 62 percent found him lacking, and 37 percent said that he had performed well.
The poll also found that 80 percent of respondents believe that there was inadequate assessment of the situation in the run-up to the Lebanon War last summer, while just 20 percent of those polled said the opposite.
Some 56 percent said that Israel was right to go to war, while 42 percent said that there was no justification.
When asked to explain the reasons why they saw Olmert's leadership as a failure, 50 of respondents cited the events of the past 12 months, 31 percent blamed the prime minister's personality and 15 put it down to the expansion of the government.
Some 45 percent said that Olmert would have fared better in their estimation had he fired Amir Peretz from the job of defense minister.
Just 20 percent, however, said that they would have liked Olmert more if he had dismissed Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, although 73 percent said it would not have changed their opinion of Olmert.
The full results of the poll will be aired on Israel's Knesset channel (99) at 10:30 P.M. on Thursday.