JERUSALEM, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new Kadima party has gained popularity in the week since he was hospitalized, a Ha'aretz poll published Wednesday said.
If elections were held now, Kadima would win 44 Knesset seats -- four more than in a survey taken after Sharon suffered a major stroke and was hospitalized.
The poll of 640 people found Labor dropping two seats to 16, while Sharon's former Likud party lost one to 13.
As Sharon recuperates, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is also running Kadima. In that role, he bested his rivals, Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Labor Chairman Amir Peretz, not only with Knesset seats, but also in personal characteristics such as credibility and suitability to the position of prime minister.
A margin of error for the poll was not disclosed.
National elections are scheduled in Israel for March 28.
