Big appetite and small teeth: what is left of the Likud primaries?
With three additional reserved spots on top of the eight he already received, Benjamin Netanyahu has effectively canceled the Likud primaries. How did Likud disconnect from its main hallmark of the last few decades?
In less than a week, the primary elections will be held in the Likud movement. There were years when, at least on the surface, these elections were a symbol of Likud's character: accessible, popular, national, and embracing. Reporters often treated the coverage with condescension, as an anthropological mission to a remote tribe, but from my experience, anyone who attended these events without filters found it difficult not to be swept away by the feeling of "togetherness." We will not paint the past in colors that are too pink: intrigues, deals between vote contractors, and "elimination" lists always existed. Politics was like a sausage—you eat it, but prefer not to know how it is produced. Yet, when the dust settled, the air was filled with the famous Likud spirit—the most intoxicating and best-selling scent in Israeli politics since 1977.
Netanyahu and the rest
What is the connection between that experience and the upcoming primaries? Almost nothing. Netanyahu is asking to reserve three spots in addition to the eight already approved for ministers Israel Katz, Katz, and Gideon Sa'ar. Given that some recent polls place Likud at only 22 mandates, more than half of the party's next Knesset members will be appointed by the Prime Minister. It is astonishing.
It is embarrassing to watch the campaign propaganda of Likud MKs. As veteran politicians, they must have heard of Otto von Bismarck, who once said about Italy: "Such a big appetite and such small teeth." Bismarck passed away long before Italy, in its desperate desire to be an imperial power, sank its small teeth into Ethiopia using chemical weapons—a brutality whose international leniency led directly to much more serious war crimes years later.
"Boom, boom, boom" and reality
It is hard not to think of Bismarck when watching the campaign videos of Defense Minister Israel "boom, boom, boom" Katz. In his videos, he presses red buttons and blows away enemies from Gaza to Tehran, but in reality, he trembles with fear of the party members' judgment, running to take cover in the shadow of Netanyahu's "extra" reservations. His fear is justified: without this protection, he might have been pushed out of the circle of candidates to succeed Netanyahu. Katz is perhaps the most extreme example of the "primary stupidity" that has gripped the candidates, but he is not alone—look at the videos of Idit Silman or May Golan.
What do these candidates think of Likud voters if this is the level they present in their embarrassing clips? And what does their Prime Minister think, who sends media representatives to attack Gadi Eisenkot for not being "Moroccan enough," while reserving spots for three Ashkenazi ministers? If Eisenkot was checked for kashrut levels at his daughter's wedding, one can certainly trace the origins of the Prime Minister's appointees (Sa'ar, Katz, Katz) to show how far Likud has moved from its roots: from the periphery to America.
Conclusion: from achievements to provocations
It is amazing that some candidates had four whole years to prepare. Instead of real work, we see ministers prioritizing social events and party maneuvers. When you look at the list of "achievements" they present to voters, you find a jumble of falsehoods, stolen credit, and boasting about arguments with the "left." This is the connection between Bismarck and the void in which Likud candidates are currently splashing: they have a big appetite and very small teeth.
