Likud attacks: 'We feel Netanyahu deceived us'
Less than a week before the primaries, tempers in the party are flaring. The late-night reserved spots given to the "Katzes" are causing anger, which is currently being expressed anonymously. The Minister of Defense knew about the Prime Minister's plan, but still launched a "Boom-Boom" campaign.
In Likud, they are used to chaos every time the party prepares for primaries, but they have never had a mess like this.
Just five days before about 150,000 registered members go to the polls, the uncertainty in the party is high on almost every possible issue: starting with the question of who is eligible to run for the spots reserved for district representatives, continuing with the issue of seniority reduction, and even the question of whether the primaries will be held at all.
Against this background, it is possible to understand why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the reserved spots for senior Likud ministers in the dead of night. He wants to hide this move deep under the radar: after all, who wants to be perceived as two-faced on such a sensitive issue? On one hand, Netanyahu declared that he wants to rejuvenate the list and refresh its face while maintaining internal democracy, and on the other hand, at the moment of truth, the reserved spots serve as a ticket to skip the primaries freely.
While the competitors of Israel Katz and Haim Katz have to deal with a brutal primary campaign where about half of the list will be pushed to an unrealistic spot, they themselves can relax comfortably and know that their places are guaranteed. It is no wonder, then, that the agitation surrounding Netanyahu's decision began to burn immediately upon its publication, despite the unusual timing. None of the Knesset members are willing to come out against Netanyahu publicly, but behind closed doors, everyone is furious at the Prime Minister.
"How is it possible that they deceived us like this?" they wonder in Likud. "We supported Netanyahu's proposal for reserved spots out of support for the desire to upgrade the list and refresh it. But how can you call the list 'fresh' when Haim Katz is reserved in it at our expense?".
In truth, one can understand the Likud Knesset members and ministers. Even in the most optimistic scenario, only about 15 realistic spots remain on the list. The meaning is that even senior and veteran members of the movement will find themselves at home.
It seems that the anger in Likud towards Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar is less than towards others. After all, the promise for a reserved spot was given a long time ago, upon his entry into the government, and everyone knows that Netanyahu does not neglect defectors from the opposition (unlike other promises to senior members of his movement).
As for Defense Minister Katz, it is a different farce. In recent weeks, Netanyahu submitted a classified document to the Likud court, in which he demanded that they allow him an additional reserved spot for Katz (not as part of his reserved spots quota). The reason? The fact that Katz is apparently "too busy with state affairs to focus on a primary campaign".
Haim Katz will lose from all directions?
Katz knew about the request, and also knew that it was approved, but that did not stop him from launching a campaign of primary videos, led by the hit "Israel Katz Boom-Boom-Boom", or skipping a cabinet meeting to attend the wedding of a personal friend who is also a central committee member.
But the main anger is over the reserved spot of Haim Katz, whose reservation has meanwhile been halted. This is also the (new) reason for the uncertainty in the party. Katz was the main factor in the "craziness" that the party has gone through in recent weeks. As chairman of the Likud Constitution Committee, he is the one who conducted the negotiations with Netanyahu on the number of reserved spots on the list and on the district placements, and the one who brought about the proposal according to which, contrary to custom, incumbent Knesset members could run for the spots reserved for district representatives.
Katz cared there mainly for his associates, Knesset members Eti Atiya and Keti Shitrit, who are considered to have a low chance of being elected on the national list of the primaries, but the current move might cause him to come out empty-handed from both sides. If the court decides to rule against him this time as well, Katz might find himself without his associates on the list, and while he is in a doubtful-realistic position on the list for the Knesset. Just five days before the primaries, the hourglass is running out, but it seems that the real battle, of politicians fighting not to end their political career, has only just begun.
