Netanyahu’s Personal Control Over Likud Revealed by Controversial Reserved Seats

The recent controversy over reserved seats in the Likud party ahead of its primaries reflects a long-standing system shaped by Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal leadership style. Netanyahu has built the party in his own image, emphasizing personal loyalty over independence, which has gradually eroded internal democracy within Likud. Over nearly two decades, Netanyahu sidelined or expelled members who showed political independence, consolidating power around himself and creating a party apparatus dependent on his authority.

Several prominent figures who once held independent standing within Likud, such as Avi Dichter, Nir Barkat, and Yoav Kish, have been pushed aside or marginalized as the party increasingly became a vehicle for Netanyahu’s control. The reserved seats given to politicians like Gideon Sa’ar, Haim Katz, and Israel Katz are seen not as efforts to strengthen Likud but as political deals to maintain power among key figures, reflecting a distribution of spoils rather than democratic choice.

Netanyahu’s approach contrasts with other party leaders who set their lists without democratic processes, yet he insists on maintaining the appearance of a democratic primary system while ensuring outcomes favor his interests. The current turmoil exposes the cost of this system, where internal democracy is conditional and subordinated to Netanyahu’s leadership. The upcoming Likud list will reveal the true state of the party: one whose democratic institutions have been gradually surrendered to the will of a single individual. Netanyahu’s critics and allies alike are now facing the consequences of this centralized control.