Netanyahu shapes next Likud Knesset list to his liking
Opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu uses all sorts of means to control the composition of the next Likud Knesset list, so that it does not reflect bad on him and that it does not promote his rivals.
The greatest concern currently facing former Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu is which names will appear on his party’s Knesset list in the Nov. 1 election. The list will be determined in primaries scheduled for Aug. 10. Some 140 candidates will be competing for a place high on the list.
Netanyahu wants the list to be “clean” and “official,” so that it appeals to a wide range of voters. This is especially important to him now, with criminal charges hanging over him.
That isn’t as easy as it seems. As of now, at least two of the candidates have criminal records of their own. While Netanyahu is trying to block them from being chosen for the list, his options are limited. Some 130,000 Likud party members have the right to vote in the primary, and their interests aren’t always in lockstep with Netanyahu’s.
Netanyahu himself did not need to be elected in the upcoming primary. None of the other senior Likud members are planning to run against him for the party leadership position. Perhaps the greatest proof of his absolute and uncontested power over the party is the fact that no one dares challenge his position.
