Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be working over the weekend to influence Likud lawmakers ahead of a Sunday vote, as part of an effort to secure control over at least the first six reserved spots on the party’s Knesset list ahead of the upcoming elections, Likud MK Amit Halevi told The Jerusalem Post in a Thursday interview.
Halevi is a member of the Likud Constitution Committee, which will hold a vote on Sunday on changing the primary system in a way that could grant Netanyahu authority to select candidates for the highest slots on the party list.
Any decision made on Sunday would still need to be finalized by the committee.
While the Likud holds primaries to determine its Knesset list – set to take place no later than July 28 – there have been numerous reports that Netanyahu has been seeking to change the method of conducting the primaries this year to grant the premier more control and determine the highest slots on the list himself.
There have also been reports that Netanyahu has threatened to leave Likud if the proposed changes are not advanced.
Ahead of the Sunday vote to change the system, Halevi said he believed the prime minister would attempt to speak with Likud MKs “in closed rooms” over the weekend to persuade those who were opposed to the move.
Parties are not mandated to hold primaries in Israel, and only a few conduct them. The Likud has prided itself for years that it conducts primaries in which its over 100,000 registered members are eligible to vote for the Knesset list.
The vote to change the primary system was initially scheduled to take place on Wednesday, but was later pushed to Sunday next week.
“I think he’s trying on the weekend to meet them [Likud MKs] and to say, let’s do this, let’s do that, and he’s trying to build the formula with much less resistance,” Halevi said.
Netanyahu likely to join Likud Constitution Committee meeting
Halevi told the Post that there is a high likelihood that Netanyahu will join the Likud Constitution Committee meeting on Sunday to vote as well.
“If I understood well, the prime minister will be there because... he wants to influence. That’s my opinion, according to my experience,” Halevi said.
Halevi added that he believed it was important for the party to hold its primaries and that he did not believe they would be canceled, despite some reports suggesting otherwise.
“It’s not at all obvious in Israel’s current political climate that there is a party with over 150,000, now already close to 170,000 paying members, who want to be involved and are active, with over 100 branches across the country.”
He said that the primaries made Likud stand out from parties like Blue and White, led by MK Benny Gantz, or Yisrael Beytenu, led by MK Avidgor Lieberman, who decide their own lists.
Halevi said he did not see a contradiction in maintaining the democratic process of primaries and having Netanyahu reserve a limited number of top slots.
“I think there is room to allow the prime minister [to pick the first slots on the list], precisely because of the current era I described: most other parties do not have primaries, and the ability of political competitors to quickly bring in people who are electoral assets is something we need to deal with,” he said.
“People who represent the values of the party, the spirit of the party, and what the party wants to promote in the next elections, these people can be brought in quickly, without going through the long process of primaries,” Halevi said about reserving slots.
“I think it is very important to allow this in order to maximize the chance of victory for the national camp in the elections. What is at stake is extremely significant for our country in the upcoming elections,” he added.
Halevi also argued that reserved slots could help bring in strong candidates from outside the party.
“It’s very hard to come [into Likud] from outside. It’s very hard to take part in a competition like this when you have 15 ministers who are in their positions and another 25 Knesset members. So that’s why there is a rationale to make the reservations too.”
“There are excellent people who simply do not want to go through the primaries. They are not from within the party and don’t have the networks or long-standing connections,” Halevi explained.
Reserved slots may go to Sa'ar, Kahlon
There have been reports that some of the reserved slots could go to figures such as Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and former finance minister Moshe Kahlon.
Regarding who the reserved slots would ultimately be used for, Halevi said he believed some would be allocated to people who “embody the spirit of the party.”
“People from the military or people who paid personal prices in the war, who can strongly express the demand for victory,” he said.
“Maybe former officers, people who served and sacrificed, or people with strong public service backgrounds.
“That is likely the direction. There may also be politicians from the past, I don’t know. But the general direction, from what I understand, is people who represent strength, resilience, and victory,” Halevi continued.
He also stressed that it was most important to do what would be best for the party to succeed in the elections. The debate on how to hold the Likud primaries comes ahead of the general elections, which are set to take place no later than October 27.