Likud Primaries: Centrist List Emerges, Rivals Disappointed

The Likud party's primary elections for its Knesset slate produced results largely favorable to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Established, well-known figures retained realistic positions on the list, while more controversial personalities were either relegated to lower spots or eliminated entirely.

Tally Gotliv, for instance, was pushed to the end of the second ten-candidate tier. Hanoch Milwidsky, who faces potential criminal charges, was pushed off the list completely. Other names associated more with bombastic rhetoric than legislative work also failed to secure spots, including Nissim Vaturi, Idit Silman, and May Golan.

The bulk of the list comprises Knesset members actively engaged in parliamentary and governmental work: Yoav Kisch, Yariv Levin, David Amsalem, Ofir Katz, Yoav Gallant, and others. Almog Cohen also joined the list, benefiting from voter approval of his recent move to Likud.

Beyond the individual lawmakers who lost their spots, the biggest losers may be the satellite parties flanking Likud from both right and left. These smaller factions had hoped for a more extreme Likud list that would alienate moderate voters.

Gideon Sa'ar, who leads the New Hope-National Unity alliance, had anticipated a more strident, anti-establishment list that would drive voters toward his party. Instead, the results reflect mainstream Likud sentiment. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leading the Religious Zionism party to Likud's right, will find that most Knesset members who opposed his dairy reform initiative, including Sasson Guetta and Avi Dichter, were removed from the list. Yossi Tayeb's Ahrayut (Responsibility) party will discover that Likud's slate represents solid right-wing governance rather than populist theatrics.

Just yesterday, the Ahdut (Unity) party released a video mocking the distance Likud has traveled from Menachem Begin's legacy party to its current incarnation. The video featured three figures: Silman, Milwidsky, and Gotliv. One was pushed down the list, and two were eliminated entirely.

All three of these satellite parties had hoped for a less appealing top tier on the Likud list to draw voters away from Netanyahu's party. Now they will need to recalculate their electoral strategies.