Netanyahu Weighs Scrapping Likud Primaries, These Are the Options Still on His Desk

As reported this week on Walla, the Likud leadership is planning an overhaul of the party list ahead of the upcoming elections. In recent days, the prime minister has met with Likud local authority heads, ministers, Knesset members and party activists, and is examining several ways to change the party.

Of the proposals on Netanyahu’s table, there are three main options: the first is to cancel the primaries and establish an advisory committee that would determine the list. Another option is to abolish the districts, reserved slots on the list for representatives from 10 districts across the country, and hold primaries for one large national list that would include 10 reserved spots. A further proposal under consideration is to hold primaries for the national list up to the 40th place, reserve 10 spots, and push the districts farther down the list, below 40.

Netanyahu is expected to continue meeting in the coming days with additional Likud figures to discuss the issue. It should be noted that in Likud, the selection method changes with every election cycle, sometimes with minor changes and sometimes with larger ones. Through these changes, Netanyahu wants to preserve the strong core of the list and refresh it with new names from outside who did not run in the primaries. Netanyahu wants to refresh, improve and change the list ahead of the elections.

At present, there are 10 district representatives on the Likud list, all of whom serve in the Knesset: the Shfela, Eliyahu Revivo; the Galilee and Valleys, Nissim Vaturi; the Negev, Shalom Danino; Dan, Hanoch Milwidsky; the Coastal Plain, Eli Dallal; Haifa, Ariel Kallner; Jerusalem, Amit Halevi; Tel Aviv, Asher Shkalim; regional councils, Sasson Guetta; and Yesha, Avichai Boaron. These are 10 places that are extremely valuable from Netanyahu’s perspective. The plan under consideration is to reduce the districts to six and also push them down on the list, where they are currently in 18th place. Now, there is an effort to move them from 25th place onward, or whatever proposal is ultimately approved.