Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu is exhibiting a paranoia regarding Moshe Feiglin, who heads the Manhigut Yehudit faction of the party. Now aware that all efforts to prevent Feiglin and his supporters from competing for slots on the Likud ticket, Netanyahu on Tuesday succeeded in making changes in the ballot process after three different changes of heart in less than two weeks.
Likud has now agreed that each Central Committee Member will mark off 12 names instead of 10. Netanyahu wanted 15, but ultimately, settled for 12. He feels the additional two names per person will assist some of his new stars to successfully enter the lineup and he hopes it will oust the organized list of Feiglin who is expected to succeed in bringing a number of his supporters in.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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3 Responses
He’s not paranoid. Under proportional represetation, any seats the Feiglin brings to the Likud will come from other right-wing parties with ideologies similar to Feiglin’s, and that means from “Jewish Home” (formerly NRP/NU), which might even lose so many seats that it fails to cross the threshold and its votes get thrown out. However, the people who might otherwise vote Likud but are turned off by Feiglin’s views, are likely to switch to Kadima, possibly resulting in Livni’s being elected Prime Minister. Given that some of Feiglin’s views (particularly his anti-Arab views)
are contrary to traditional Likud (and Gahal, and Herut with Liberalim, before it) views, Netanyahu is probably justified in his objections. IF FEIGLIN were more interested in advancing his agenda, rather than personal glory as a Likud backbencher, he would merge with “Jewish home”, and be in a position to prevent a coalition between Likud and Labor, or even worse (from his perspective), a government led by Kadima.
To Akuperma,
You are so off base that you must be a Bibi supporter.
The NRP has NEVER stopped anything from happening.
Bibi, Olmert, Barak and Livni would LOVE for Moshe to join the NRP (or whatever it calls itself now – maybe “the Jewish Home”).
If you knew Feiglin, you would know that he’s not doing this for personal glory. He is doing this for Am Yisrael.
Rob –
Actually I have no strong preferences on Israeli politics. I prefer a restoration of the monarchy under the direction of the Gedolim.
“Personal glory” was being sarcastic – he’ld be better off as leader of an independent faction than a backbencher in Likud.
Bibi would be delighted if Feiglin joined/led “Bayit Yehudi” since it would allow Likud to pick up seats from Kadima, while strengthening a potential coalition partner. From a nationalist and/or religious perspective, if “Bayit Yehudi” does well increases the liklihood of Likud coalition with nationalist and/or religious parties, as opposed to coalition involving some left-wing (Kadima or Labor) parties.
Feiglin in Likud does NOT strengthen the “right” side of the spectrum vis a vis the left, it just rearranges it at best, and perhaps weakens it by causing some Likud votes to switch to Kadima, and/or depriving other religious/nationalist parties of enough support to get their votes counted (given the increase in threshold to roughly 3 seats – no more 1 or 2 man parties).
Given the incompatibility of Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu, the switch of a few seats from Likud to Kadima could tip the balance away from a government sympathetic to religious interests.