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Bibi’s self-made trap
Regardless of result, Netanyahu’s decision to hold primaries now was sure to backfire
Attila Somfalvi
Those who planned to make use of the low voter turnout in order to slam Netanyahu and the Likud primaries will have to look elsewhere. Even those who were hoping to claim that Likud has turned into a radical right-wing party better look in the mirror and be honest with themselves: Nothing has changed from previous Likud primaries.
| Bibi Victory |
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| Netanyahu wins Likud primaries / Atilla Somfalvi |
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According to unofficial results Netanyahu receives 75% of votes to beat out Feiglin, Danon and remain in control of Likud party; 39.64% of 94,944 registered party members cast ballots |
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This time, Feiglin got about 8,000 votes, with virtually everyone who didn’t want to vote for Bibi but bothered to make it to the polling stations voting for Feiglin. In terms of absolute numbers, Feiglin didn’t get more than everyone knew or thought he had.
The trouble Netanyahu must deal with now is not the result, but rather, the image of the primaries and of the party. Those who don’t like him would say that had he won 90 percent of the vote, the movement would have turned into “Bibistan.” Under the current circumstances, they say, it has become “Likudistan.” Or in other words, whatever he would have done and regardless of how many votes he won, Netanyahu is trapped: He couldn’t have emerged out of these primaries well.
But to be honest, Netanyahu can only blame himself. The decision to hold the primaries in the middle of summer vacation, with his main rival quitting the battlefield at the outset and leaving the arena to the serving chairman and two delusional candidates was Netanyahu’s decision, and his alone.
It’s true that had Ariel Sharon led such move, he would have been praised as a magician and marketed as the king of Israeli politics, capable of neutralizing his rivals in his sleep. Yet Netanyahu should have acted differently: He should have known in advance that Silvan Shalom would not rush into a battle he could only lose.
But apparently the polls overcame logic, and Netanyahu gave in to the pressure and to the sense that this story can be finished once and for all, while neutralizing Silvan and making him sit in the corner, just like one punishes a noisy child making a mess.
Netanyahu’s trick failed, and now he’s stuck with Feiglin. As of Wednesday morning, he will have to make great efforts in order to change the image that has been created yet again – the image of the Likud being captive in the hands of a group of radical rightists.
At the end of the day, there is no big news and no surprises. Netanyahu won, Feiglin competed again and failed, and Danny Danon received a few media mentions. In a few days, nobody would remember the Likud primaries. Nobody would also remember how many votes Feiglin got.
Yet everyone will be monitoring the situation to see whether Netanyahu and his people keep their word and attempt to remove Moshe Feiglin and Michael Fuah from the party, and more interestingly, how so.
Later, after the move is completed, who would even remember that in the hot and humid August of 2007, Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the fact that he is the Likud chairman? For that, we didn’t need primaries. We could have just skipped straight to the next round of clashes.
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