ALBAWABA – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from within his Likud party as he attempts to overhaul the party’s electoral list in the run-up to Israel’s next general election amid rising concerns over diminishing popular support and unfavorable polling.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Netanyahu is also looking to boost the number of guaranteed slots under his direct control on the Likud candidate list, which would give him greater sway over which members land top spots in the next Knesset. Senior party figures have criticised the move, saying it is meant to strengthen his grip on the parliamentary group.
Netanyahu has been disturbed at recent public surveys showing his political movement struggling to obtain the legislative majority needed to form the next government, the daily said, citing party sources. One insider said the prime minister was in a “state of hysteria” and believed the only way to reverse the party’s fortunes is to reshape the candidate list.
Netanyahu wants to secure between 10 and 11 guaranteed spots on the Likud list, reports say, potentially sidelining numerous veteran MPs who have long been counted among his closest allies. Despite years of allegiance from many in the present parliamentary faction, a top party official accused Netanyahu of trying to "purge" them.
A vote is scheduled to take place shortly thereafter on proposed modifications to the party’s primary system, which will be debated during a major meeting of Likud’s constitutional committee before being presented for a final vote by the party’s central committee.
Netanyahu is also racing to finish several key legislative targets sought by his coalition partners, as the country moves toward elections, beyond internal party politics. The administration is pushing through seven key proposals, including a draft law that will exempt ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students from compulsory military service, media reforms and modifications to the powers of Israel's attorney general - moves critics believe might deepen political divisions.
Meanwhile, a fresh poll published by Maariv showed former Israeli military director Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition party narrowly beating Likud for the first time, garnering an anticipated 22 seats compared with Likud’s 21. The survey also put Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious alliance at just 49 seats, considerably below the 61-seat majority needed to form a government, reflecting the increasingly tough political situation facing the veteran Israeli leader.
