Despite the continuing decline in the polls of the joint Likud-Yisrael Beytenu list, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman says he feels positive about the outcome of the Jan. 22 election. "I have a good feeling about the election results," Lieberman said on Saturday at a Shabbat Culture" event in Beersheba. "According to reports I get from the field, from our activists, I am quite certain that in contrast to what the polls say, we will get about 40 seats." The latest polls have predicted 32 to 35 seats for the joint list. "Obviously you always expect more," Lieberman said, "But I think there will be good results. It correctly reflects our expectations from our merger with the Likud. I think that the merger was the right thing to do, both now and in retrospect." Lieberman said he did not think the polls accurately reflected reality, referring especially to polls published over the last few days, most of which predicted a decrease from previous polls in the number of seats Likud-Beytenu list will win. "I am calm and relaxed," Lieberman said. "We will get more seats than the polls predict. I am not sure the polls are an accurate reflection of reality." Lieberman also spoke about the pending indictment against him confidently: "At the end of the trial, I'll be found innocent and return to the Foreign Ministry." Referring to U.S. President Barack Obama's criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lieberman said, "We will not stop building in Jerusalem just because of what is said." Meanwhile, Netanyahu has pledged not to raise taxes after the election. In an interview on Channel 2's "Meet the Press" on Saturday night, Netanyahu said, "I intend not to raise taxes. I will do everything I can not to raise taxes. This is a very responsible undertaking. I don't know if there will be a collapse in the world markets. If that is the situation, things may be different. As I see things today, I'm not going to raise taxes." In other news, Welfare and Social Services Minister Moshe Kahlon, who announced a few months ago that he would not run in the coming election and would take a break from politics, said over the weekend that he intended to return to politics at some point. "I am setting out on my own now so I don't need to be removed from office, Kahlon said at a conference in Eilat. I don't know when, but no doubt I will return. Anyone who wants to have a real effect [on society] should enter politics."
