Pressure on Netanyahu grows: The unusual move that could save Avi Dichter

The day after the Likud primaries: Among senior Likud members, pressure is growing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use the "castling" clause approved before the primaries to move Minister Avi Dichter to a realistic spot on the list. This message is currently being conveyed to Netanyahu, mainly due to Dichter's status as a former head of the Shin Bet and the fear that Likud will reach the elections without a senior security figure in a realistic spot.

Dichter was pushed out of the realistic range in the primaries, and the result is causing concern among senior Likud members. Following the departure of Yoav Gallant, Dichter is considered the most distinct security expert among the party's senior members, and senior Likud members believe that his presence on the list has electoral importance in an election campaign where security issues are expected to take a central place.

The possibility of returning Dichter to the realistic range is already anchored in the Likud election constitution. The Constitution Committee approved before the primaries a mechanism that allows Netanyahu to promote a candidate who ran in the primaries to a spot designated for one of the chairman's reserved spots, and to move the reserved candidate to a later spot. The mechanism was nicknamed "castling".

The clause that may now help Dichter was at the center of a sharp dispute before the primaries. Petitions were filed against it to the Likud court, among other things against the background of claims that it was intended to allow the promotion of certain candidates. The name of Haim Katz was raised then as one of the possible beneficiaries. The court rejected the petitions and approved the clause, arguing that the promotion is done at the expense of a spot reserved for the chairman's reservation, and therefore does not push back another candidate who was elected by the members.

The president of the Likud court, Michael Kleiner, expressed a principled position supporting the preference of a candidate who ran in the primaries over a reserved candidate:

"I am in favor of any step that promotes a person who ran and was elected over a reserved person."

At this stage, the pressure among the senior members is focused on Dichter. Other names may come up later, but there is currently no similar consensus around another candidate. Now the decision is Netanyahu's.

Using the clause in favor of Dichter means that one of the reserved slots in his hands will be used to promote a minister who ran in the primaries, instead of bringing in a new candidate from the outside. The clause that sparked a struggle even before the vote may receive its first practical use following the results - and return Dichter to a realistic spot on the Likud list.