Most Israelis believe the Likud-Kadima unity deal was driven by personal and political considerations rather than the national good, and few believe the new 94-MK coalition will carry out the promises its leaders made Tuesday, a Haaretz-Dialog poll has found.

Evidently, Tuesday’s lengthy press conference by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz failed to convince the public, which remains suspicious and skeptical of all their talk about national responsibility: Only a quarter of respondents said they believe the two were motivated by the good of the country.

It seems the deal’s timing – at the eleventh hour, one minute before the Knesset dissolved – caused the public to view the new partnership with a jaundiced eye. Had a unity government been formed at the start of the Knesset term, or even halfway through, it would likely have been viewed differently. But coming when it did, Mofaz appears to have jumped in bed with Netanyahu solely to save himself from political extinction.

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The same skepticism is evident when it comes to the promises written in the Likud-Kadima coalition agreement: About half the public believes the government will not abide by its commitment to pass a law to draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, whereas only one-third believe such legislation will be enacted and that the ultra-Orthodox will start being drafted.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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