Chairman Ya'akov Katz of the National Union party reacted, Friday, to a voter survey, which showed the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home-New National Religious Party) Knesset faction growing from three to five members, by saying the party's registration drive and upcoming primaries have not changed things. He noted that a poll taken before the registration drive also showed a rise of two seats.
Referring to a joint National Union-Bayit Yehudi ticket, Ketzaleh said, "One must assume that if the parties don't run together, the situation won't change." He added that a joint ticket could raise the two parties' survey total of nine seats to a faction between 12 and 15 mandates. Such a faction, he said, could influence the formation of a coalition and "constitute the backbone of the next government."