Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Likud, MK Chaim Katz and agreed to call the central committee of the Likud to meet on December 5th, in order to gain their agreement to cancel Likud primary voting for members of Knesset on the party’s list. The move came after two highly ranked MKs on the Likud list asked the committee to assist in finding alternate solutions to having Netanyahu running the party currently.

The first of these two MKs was Gidon Saar who requested that the Likud central committee convene to hold primaries with regard to who will lead the party. MK Nir Barkat, the other high-ranking Likud member suggested a hybrid approach that would see an interim leader take over the party until the Prime Minister’s legal proceedings have been concluded. Barkat attacked Sa’ar stating that holding primaries would be an attempt to divide the party.

Sa’ar’s recent insistence that the party hold primaries has brought the old demons in the Likud party back to life. Barkat claimed that Sa’ar was attempting to oust Netanyahu as the leader of the party.

Sa’ar responded to Barkat’s comments and said: “When I was fighting for the Likud, back when we only had 12 mandates Barkat was drinking campaign in the Kadima headquarters, as he was a member of that party. After just a few days in the Knesset, Barkat is creating a campaign in order to fill in for the Chairman of the party in order to create an incitement campaign against me? Barkat you need to learn that you cannot buy yourself Likud members, and leadership is not obtained by zigzagging or blinking.”

Barkat responded on his Twitter account: “Gideon, real leadership is tested during times of crisis. You seem to be confused by the applause you are receiving from the left-wing and the media in their attempt to oust the Prime Minister. You have revealed a lack of loyalty at the most critical time for Netanyahu and the Likud… You should be embarrassed.”

Should a new round of elections be called, the Likud Central Committee and its members would participate in another round of primaries for the party and its leadership as the regulations of the party stand now. As said previously, Netanyahu is working with Katz in order to avoid that and nullify the primaries.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)