Kadima under the leadership of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is sinking in the polls, losing nearly two-thirds of its strength. According to a Haaretz-Dialog poll earlier this week, were elections held today, Kadima would win 12 seats in the Knesset and Likud would take its place with 29 seats.

According to the poll, only 20 percent of those who voted for Kadima in the previous election would do so today, while two-thirds of those supporting Likud in the 2006 election would do so again.

In a question about who would be more appropriate for the role of Defense Minister, in view of Ehud Barak's announcement that he is running for the leadership of Labor in May, those polled chose Ami Ayalon.

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The poll, carried out under the guidance of Prof. Camile Fuchs, involved 500 persons, with a 4.9 percent maximum error.

The poll shows that Olmert and Peretz continue to lose ground, with the Prime Minister enjoying a 14 percent approval rating (a 6 percent drop since the last poll), while the Defense Minister dropped to 10 percent (losing four points).

Only Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appears to be holding steady, with a 51 percent approval rating among those polled.

In a Livni vs. Olmert for Prime Minister question, the Foreign Minister crushes Olmert by a margin of three to one.

Barak's entry into the race for the leadership of Labor seems not to have affected the general public, which continues to consider him a less-than-desirable candidate.

If Barak is selected to head Labor, this will weaken the party among the general public, the poll revealed.

On the other hand, Labor supporters are eager to see him lead the party. For example, in a previous poll, he received 22 percent approval rating for the post of prime minster, but in the current poll he received 40 percent.