Netanyahu Bets on Personal Tragedies to Counter Election Attacks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is strategically placing individuals with deep personal connections to the October 7th attacks and the ongoing war onto the Likud party's reserved list positions. This move aims to counter the anticipated electoral challenge from opponents who plan to leverage the failures of October 7th and the war as their central campaign theme.

Netanyahu's strategy involves positioning figures like Talik Guili, who represents hostage families, and Elyashiv Medan, a combat hero, alongside others who have suffered personal losses. The goal is to prevent the opposition from monopolizing the narrative of pain, sacrifice, and heroism associated with the events of October 7th. By having these individuals, who identify with the national camp and support Netanyahu despite their personal costs, on his list, Netanyahu seeks to complicate the opposition's attacks and demonstrate that these profound experiences are not solely aligned with his political rivals.

The campaign's objective for these individuals is to break the automatic association between the trauma of October 7th and the anti-Netanyahu bloc. When an opposition candidate representing a bereaved family or a war hero faces a Likud candidate with a similar personal story who supports Netanyahu, the public debate becomes more emotionally and politically complex.

While the reserved list includes individuals like Yaakov Bardugo and David Peter, who reinforce existing support bases, and Eli Goldschmidt as a notable exception, the article questions their ability to attract new voters. The inclusion of these reserved spots also comes at an internal cost to the Likud party, potentially displacing long-time activists and those who have succeeded in primary elections. Despite these criticisms, the article suggests that Netanyahu has assembled a useful campaign team, even if they are not definitive game-changers.