Netanyahu Seeks Way to Reshape Likud List Amid Primary Fight

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking for creative ways to keep control over Likud’s Knesset candidate list as tensions rise inside the party over whether to hold internal primaries. The Likud constitution committee is set to meet on Sunday to decide the rules for the primaries, while party members are openly furious at the possibility that Netanyahu will try to cancel them.

As a possible compromise, party insiders say Netanyahu is considering a model that would let him remove a number of candidates from the list, giving him more room to maneuver in shaping the slate. According to people familiar with the discussions, the idea emerged as part of efforts to bridge the internal conflict, and Netanyahu is reportedly drawing inspiration from a similar clause in the constitution of The Democrats party.

About two weeks ago, reports said Netanyahu was still pushing to abolish Likud’s internal elections. In a meeting with senior local authority heads in the party, he said he intended to turn to a steering committee that, in his words, would involve them in choosing the Knesset list. He defended the move by stressing the stakes of the election, saying, “These are decisive elections, we need to take extraordinary steps, we need to put forward a list that can speak to broader audiences.”

One of the names Netanyahu has reportedly singled out is MK Tali Gottlieb, whom he considers someone who “drives away voters” and hurts Likud’s ability to maximize its seat count. The dispute comes as the party prepares for a key internal decision on whether, and how, its candidate selection process will proceed.