Netanyahu Pushing to Cancel Likud Primaries, Calls Election 'Crucial'

Less than a month after it was first reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had proposed to senior Likud officials and local authority heads that the party’s primaries be canceled, it was reported in the main evening news on Thursday that Netanyahu is continuing his efforts to cancel the internal elections. In a meeting with prominent local authority heads in the party, the prime minister said he intends to turn to a steering committee, which, according to him, would involve them in choosing the Knesset list. Netanyahu justified the move by citing the importance of the elections, saying, "These are crucial elections, we need to take extraordinary steps, we need to put forward a list that can appeal to broader audiences." One of the names Netanyahu has "targeted" as someone he would like to move out of the party is MK Tally Gotliv, on the grounds that she "drives voters away" and hurts Likud's ability to maximize its mandates. People involved in the matter, as well as party members, say Netanyahu's chances of succeeding in his attempt are low, since "a complete cancellation of the primaries would be difficult". Therefore, the assessment is that this is only an internal "show of force".