Netanyahu Loses Control Over Likud Convention
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw the extreme right infiltrate his party, but instead of putting up a fight, he demonstrated apathy and flaccidity.
The June 27 election of Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, "the settlers’ favorite," to the head of the Likud party convention surprised no one; it only symbolized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s loss of control over his party.
The warning signs had been there over the last four years; giant Likud party registration campaigns were conducted in Judea and Samaria. These registrations systematically succeeded in changing the party’s DNA. Netanyahu saw what was going on, but in those years he exhibited apathy.
On June 30, Danon is also expected to win the chairperson position of Likud’s Central Committee, thus becoming one of the party’s strongmen. Danon, who was elected to the fourth place on the Likud Knesset list, owes the settlers for his "upgrade" in status — without even being a minister. Danon will now look up to the settlers and will report to them way before reporting to the prime minister.
This result has far-reaching implications not only for the makeup of the Likud, but directly for Netanyahu. It is difficult to see how he will succeed in advancing toward a diplomatic agreement when the very movement he is heading disregards him. Even more than that, it is hard to see how he will run another time for prime minister — for a fourth term in office — at the head of the Likud. As far as is known, Netanyahu has not yet lost his appetite for another term.
