Not for election victory: The real goal of Netanyahu's reserved spots
Netanyahu does not need a list that will win the election for him, but a loyal and disciplined faction that will serve him the day after — whether in opposition or in power. The reserved spots for Israel Katz, Haim Katz, and Gideon Sa'ar are not an electoral mistake, but part of a move that, according to the author, is intended to fortify Netanyahu's power and accelerate the "Erdoganization" of Israel.
Stop looking for electoral logic in Netanyahu's reserved spots. They are not intended to win the election.
Netanyahu knows that whoever votes for Likud votes first and foremost for him, not for the list behind him, which is always a burden. The list is intended for the day after: if he loses, he will need a loyal and combative faction that will make life miserable for the coalition that will be formed without him, and if he wins, he will need it for a much larger move — to accelerate the "Erdoganization" of Israel ("strengthening governance"). Once you understand this, the reserved spots stop looking like a mistake, they start looking like a step in the plan.
2026 elections for the 26th Knesset: Mandate polls, bloc map, and updates
Whoever thinks Netanyahu is wrong in choosing the people, probably hasn't learned anything about Netanyahu. You can love him or you can loathe him, but it is doubtful that a more skilled politician has operated in Israel, and few in the world compare to his ability to survive and maneuver. He has survived crises that would have finished off any other leader, returned again and again from the place where he was already eulogized, and turned himself into a political brand stronger than his party. Netanyahu understands elections, power, loyalty, and people. Therefore, when his move seems to lack electoral logic, it is worth at least considering the possibility that it is not he who missed something — but us.
Therefore, the truly important question is what Netanyahu needs from the list on the day after. If he loses, he will not need a faction of independent stars who will look for compromises with the new government or start thinking about the next Likud leader. He will need a disciplined, aggressive, and hungry opposition that will know how to turn every vote into a battle and every crack in the coalition into a crisis. That will know how to inflame Likud voters to burn the streets.
And if he wins, the need for discipline will be even greater.
A government that intends to change the rules of the game does not need stars with a name and status, it needs skilled and experienced politicians who know how to close deals — they receive and stay silent.
Here, "Erdoganization" enters the picture. The party and the government are already managed around the one man, it remains only to fight for the state. The judicial system, the gatekeepers, and the public service are the arena where it will be decided how far the process will go.
If Netanyahu wins again, he will prefer those who have already undergone a long series of "re-education" and the wife's approval. That is why he reserved spots for Israel Katz and Haim Katz, greased politicians who have nowhere to go without him. That is why he also reserved a spot for Gideon Sa'ar, who has already sold his soul, and if he suffers a revenge defeat in the primaries, he will be lost as a submissive and docile slave.
And don't be surprised if Netanyahu confuses us further. In fact, he has already done so. It is not for nothing that the first reserved spot he announced was a businessman, a new face, who came from outside the political wheeling and dealing. Then came the veteran politicians. With Netanyahu, even the order of names is politics. He knows how to set the height of the flames of the public agenda and present at every moment the picture he wants us to see. Therefore, don't be surprised if soon we discover a reserved spot for a new shining star that will return the discourse to "refreshment".
This does not mean the direction has changed. Sometimes a star is intended not to illuminate the list, but to blind those who look at it.
And what about the son's reserved spot? It too will arrive at the right moment — when the public discourse allows it to be placed on the table, and perhaps after another star that will soften the blow.
The Netanyahu family does not need a reserved spot to enter politics — it is already deep inside it, but a reserved spot for Yair Netanyahu will turn a family force, which operates today outside the elected institutions, into an official political force within them. And if that happens, even the last skeptic will no longer be able to deny what is being built here: not a list intended to bring Netanyahu to power, but a list intended to fortify the family's rule for generations to come. The reserved spots are not a mistake. They are the plan.
***Dr. Kuti Shoham is a lecturer in political philosophy and political thought.
