There was only one reason for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise visit to the Mahane Yehuda souk in Jerusalem on March 9. Although the market is traditionally viewed as one of the Likud’s strongholds, many veteran Likudniks have abandoned their home base for Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu Party. Netanyahu’s visit was aimed at bringing these voters back into the fold.
Six years have passed since Netanyahu last paid a visit to the souk, when he was chairman of the opposition. Now, in the final sprint of the difficult race for his fourth premiership term, Netanyahu returned to the role of eager suitor over what was supposed to be the base of the Likud electorate. Armed with Knesset member Miri Regev — Netanyahu’s bargaining chip for wooing traditional Mizrahi populations — the prime minister attempted to garner votes that in the not-so-distant-past were viewed as a done deal. These are voters who, once upon a time, could be counted on to cast their votes for the Likud at the moment of truth at the ballot box, even when they were perhaps angry at the party.
Perhaps this little sally returned a certain percentage of the electorate to the Likud. But Netanyahu, a seasoned politician and an expert at reading the polls, also knows that this is not about big numbers. Still, from his point of view every small effort is worthwhile at this stage; after all, his controversial speech in Congress halted the hemorrhaging of votes, and according to the polls returned between one and two seats to the Likud.
According to surveys leading up to the March 17 elections, no party has crossed the bar of 25 seats thus far. The two leading parties — the Zionist Camp and the Likud — have been running neck-and-neck for several long weeks with a slight advantage to the former. Any slight change in voting patterns could determine which party finishes first, providing a certain advantage in the attempt to assemble a government. Therefore, it is interesting to track the messages, rallies and visits of the Likud chairman these days. These show us exactly from where Netanyahu hopes to accumulate more votes in this trench warfare.
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