Yael Sara rep, knitted news30.10.22 07:33 Thursday in Hashvan Tishpag
Benjamin Netanyahu last week (Photo: Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)
Towards a drama in Likud? Likud senior officials have been preparing for the day after the elections in recent days, and in internal conversations they are saying that “Netanyahu should go home.” The senior officials are afraid of a situation in which the right-wing bloc will once again fail to obtain 61 mandates, and are considering initiating a flash primary for the leadership of the party in such a case.
A senior member of the party said in closed conversations in recent days that if the Likud does not obtain 61 seats again, and remaining in the political arena will prevent the formation of a right-wing government again – he will have to make way for another senior member of the party who can form a right-wing government. If he does not do so, the official confirmed, a group of MKs in the party is preparing for the possibility of demanding a flash primary for the leadership of the party to end the re-election saga.
Agudat Israel senior officials. Likud is building on their pressure to lead a move to replace Netanyahu (Photo: Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)
At the same time, the key to such a move – according to sources in the party, are the ultra-Orthodox. Likud speculates that if both Netanyahu and Lapid fail to form a government, there will be pressure from the Agudat Israel faction in Torah Judaism for Netanyahu to vacate his seat. When the pressure begins, there are those in Likud who are talking about a joint call by senior party officials to replace Netanyahu with a candidate who can form a right-wing government and end the political floundering.
As you may recall, after the last elections Knesset members Israel Eichler and Meir Proosh wrote a letter to Netanyahu, asking him to vacate his seat. Members of the Knesset from Torah Judaism wrote at the time: “The only way to prevent a left-wing government and also to prevent elections is for you to make a clear statement before a left-wing government is formed that you will give the prime ministership to one of the right-wing bloc who succeeds in uniting the 65 right-wing MKs.”
According to Likud officials, at the moment all the senior officials are fully behind Netanyahu, giving him a chance to win the campaign he took on almost exclusively. In other words, above-the-radar actions and talk about the process of calling for the Bezeq primaries, will begin to move, if at all, only to the extent that Netanyahu fails again in the elections and fails to form a government.
A meeting of the Likud Center, archive (Photo: Gili Yaari, Flash 90)
The discussion in Likud on the question of impeachment of Netanyahu in the event that he registers another failure is causing a dispute among the party’s senior officials on the question of who agrees to announce a lightning primary for the presidency – by the members of the center or by the faction and the elected members of the Knesset.
Such a move requires the cooperation of most of the Likud senior officials who hold power in the center and in the party, senior officials some of whom are at odds with each other following internal party struggles and following the primaries. Despite this, there are those who speculate that, in light of the accumulated anger towards Netanyahu among party veterans in light of the current campaign, such a move may be possible.
Anger at Netanyahu accumulated following the reduction of field budgets in the campaign and the move to outsourcing, also many senior Likud officials were hurt during the primaries by the change in the method of election in the districts and due to the disqualification of candidates at the last minute. Also, other senior officials criticized the decision to attack Ayelet Shaked.
The Likud stated: “It was not and was not created, this is a spin that is heard from the left in every election campaign with the aim of harming the Likud. All members and members of the Knesset of the Likud are united behind Netanyahu’s effort to prevent a government from Lapid and Abbas.”
Did you find an error in the article? Does the content in the article violate copyrights that you own? Have you come across an inappropriate ad? Report to us