Israeli Politics Suffers Ideological Blur as Parties Become Leader-Centric

A significant shift in Israeli politics has led to an "ideological blur," where candidates prioritize securing a spot on a party list over aligning with their own beliefs, according to an analysis by Eitan Haber for N12. Historically, party affiliation indicated a candidate's political stance, but now, the primary concern for many politicians is which party will accept them, forcing them to adapt their views accordingly.

This phenomenon weakens democratic institutions by making elected officials more beholden to party leaders who control list placements than to the public or their party members. Haber argues that this trend, often overlooked amidst discussions of polarization and social media, represents a deeper "crushing of the party structure in Israel." Parties are no longer ideological schools that foster political experience and independent thought but have become instruments of leaders, diminishing the quality and independence of elected representatives.

The article contrasts the past, where parties had robust internal structures, with the present, where leaders often dictate party direction. While parties were never perfect, they provided a framework for ideological development and public service. The gradual introduction of "reservations" for external figures, initially intended to strengthen lists, has become the norm, replacing organic growth within parties.

The Likud party is cited as a prime example of this transformation. Once a bastion of internal democracy with primaries and genuine competition, it is now described as a party that "only pretends to be democratic." Prime Minister Netanyahu's extensive use of reservations and list manipulations has, according to the analysis, turned the party into a model of how one person can centralize power and diminish democratic processes within a democratically elected framework.

The analysis concludes that this shift from party-based politics to "court politics" undermines democracy. When parties lose their ideological core and institutional strength, loyalty to a leader replaces ideology as the binding force. This creates a situation where politicians may not even know their own core beliefs if they conflict with the leader's agenda, leading to a Knesset where ideological chaos prevails and elected officials lack true independence.