Netanyahu neutralizes rivals with Cabinet appointments

Senior Likud ministers Silvan Shalom, Gilad Erdan, Yuval Steinitz and Yisrael Katz heard various iterations of the following line in direct and indirect talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “I’m keeping the Foreign Ministry for myself. I’ll be expanding the government very soon and will have to give it away at that time. There is no reason to put someone in the position for such a short period.” 

Shalom, 57, had served previously as foreign minister. At 45, Erdan is the youngest member of the group. He is also the most popular and highly regarded Likud minister in the party and is regarded similarly among other parties as well. Even during the most difficult days of the last elections, he put everything on the line to defend the Netanyahu family in the media. Steinitz, 58, has become something of a joke on Israeli satirical TV shows because of his absolute loyalty to Netanyahu and Netanyahu's wife. Katz, who turns 60 this September, has been stuck in the Transportation Ministry for the past two terms. Each of these men thought that he was the ideal candidate for the position of foreign minister, but Netanyahu apparently never once considered giving that prestigious portfolio to any of them.

The prime minister could give the ministry to someone in trust, until he is actually required to hand it to some other party to expand his government, but he never actually pondered that option, nor were coalition considerations the sole reason that it never came up. As of May 14, Netanyahu prefers to keep the Foreign Ministry without a minister, even though the country faces a turbulent period diplomatically, with Israel’s foreign policy subjected to blow after blow on an almost daily basis. All that matters to Netanyahu is that no single individual from the Likud accumulates enough strength to pose a real threat to him by filling a position that could bolster that minister’s image as a leader or statesman.

When speaking to Netanyahu over the past few days, senior Likud members were overwhelmed by an intense sense of deja vu. As usual, he promised that things would work out, and they would be compensated in some way or another, but they knew that nothing good would come of the allocation of ministerial portfolios. This is the fourth time that the Likud chairman has insisted on turning the entire process into a grand parade of humiliating moments for the members of his party. As always, he left until the very last minute the tasking of assigning ministries to his own party, believing that his appointees would be less bitter and less prone to make threats the closer the disappointing news came to the new government’s swearing-in ceremony.