'He's looking for a media spin.' Bibi
Photo: Eli Elgarat
Bibi's McCarthyism?
Attempt to oust Moshe Feiglin is unprecedented chutzpah
If there's anything the Prime Minister's Office has in abundance, it is lawyers and jurists. From Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon, to media advisor Assi Shariv, to special advisor Dov Weisglass, to Kadima party’s legal advisor Eitan Haberman – all are experienced legalists.
Why is this significant? Because they, too, like their counterparts in Benjamin Netanyahu's office in recent days, once tried to deal with the worrying phenomenon known as Moshe Feiglin – today's persona non grata in Likud headquarters.
"We also looked at options to get Feiglin out of the Likud," said one of Sharon's senior advisors over the weekend. "We checked it out, but there was no way we could do anything about it. It's impossible to throw someone out of a political party just because someone else considers them an extremist.
Likud Intrigue
Ilan Marciano
Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu initiates series of steps to prevent Moshe Feiglin, who was convicted on charges of mutiny in 1997 and occupies far right position in party, from appearing on party list
"What Netanyahu is doing now is unprecedented chutzpah. He's looking for a media spin, trying to purge the Likud of a person who just a few months ago was a partner; someone with whom Netanyahu forged alliances and made deals."
Political center, here we come
This week the Likud Central Committee will convene to approve an addendum to the party platform to prevent Moshe Feiglin from running for a spot on the party's Knesset list. The momentum Feiglin has gathered over the past four years as a member of the party, momentum that became clear in all its splendor during last week's election for party leader, has sent party leaders, including Netanyahu and Silvan Shalom, into a panic.
The task they have set for themselves: To prevent Feiglin from running for a spot on the Likud election slate. The goal: To present the Likud as a "clean" party, moderate, centrist, no Feiglins. No more right-wing extremists, no more Feiglinism. No more fanatic right. Political center, here we come.
But this process is more than a little problematic. Just last week Moshe Feiglin was a contestant for the Likud party chairmanship, a race he ran legally, legitimately, openly and officially. Everyone knew, everyone heard. No one said anything.
Only when Feiglin garnered more than 10 percent of the vote, more than Yisrael Katz, did everyone start to worry. All of a sudden Feiglin - once partnered with Netanyahu and the rebels to embitter Arik Sharon's life for the past two years – all of a sudden he's the bad guy, someone to get rid of. The guy no one wants to be seen with in public.
What will they tell the court?
The question is just how they are going to explain this to the Supreme Court. How is it that in the span of just one week, Feiglin has gone from being a legitimate candidate for the party leadership to inappropriate candidate for the party's Knesset list?
What are Bibi's lawyers going to tell the justices – that it's all a matter of fashion, and that Feiglin is just a passing phase? And how will Netanyahu and his people explain their attempt to change the rules of the game in the middle of the game, just a few days before the party primaries?
Feiglin has been running to get on the party's Knesset list for a long time. He has invested a lot of money, run a campaign, enlisted volunteers, activists, and supporters. Who's going to repay that money? Who's going to reimburse him? And what political alternative will they offer him?
After all, Feiglin is a faithful, loyal member of the Likud Party, a man who identifies with the party's values and goals. Where's he going to go?
Political spin
Netanyahu knows his attempt to disqualify Feiglin form the party's election slate will mainly gain him media points; "spin" points. Bibi gives the impression he is fighting the radical right. If he's successful – great. If not, also good. At least he tried. From his perspective, it's a win-win situation.
But in reality, it will not be a real victory for Netanyahu. Even if he manages to disqualify Feiglin from the party's Knesset list, it would be at most a pyrrhic victory. Feiglin, to those who forgot, is also 12 percent of the Likud membership, according to the results of last week's primaries.
Politically, even if he won't be a Knesset member, someone else will be found to represent this group. And then what? Will they chase them down one after the other? Such a move would be no less than political McCarthyism.
