Likud’s internal battle over candidate selection intensifies

A discussion on Channel 14, prompted by a P14 subscriber question, focused on what the future of Likud may look like behind the scenes. Host Yaara Zered raised the issue, and political correspondent Moti Castel together with Likud activist Shlomi Vaknin argued that the party’s district system lets local power brokers shape the Knesset list without broad public backing.

According to the segment, that arrangement gives influence to small pressure groups and local organizers rather than to Likud’s wider membership. Castel and Vaknin said the current setup makes elected officials dependent on narrow interests instead of the national camp as a whole.

They argued that reserved slots and abolishing districts are not meant to create dictatorship, but to ensure representatives remain loyal to voters. Castel said there have been cases in which Knesset members elected through districts became “a faction within a faction” and worked against the government at critical moments.

The segment said the goal of changing the party’s constitution is to prevent a Likud representative from acting as a “fifth column” inside the coalition. It also said the internal fight over primaries has lasted for decades, but pressure for change from the party base has now peaked, with the movement seeking to return power to the “silent majority” of members and reduce the influence of vote brokers.