On the eve of the 2009 general elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then the chairman of the opposition, was able to enlist a slew of “stars” into the ranks of the Likud. Among them were the party’s erstwhile secessionists Dan Meridor (the son of Eliyahu Meridor, a leader of the pre-state resistance movement) and Benny Begin (the son of late Prime Minister Menachem Begin), referred to as the "princes" for their political lineage, as well as Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, by then a former chief of staff. Considered upstanding statesmen, these figures enjoyed wide public respect, awarding the Likud, headed by Netanyahu, some much needed momentum and relevance.

During that campaign, Netanyahu wanted to present to the public a popular and soft-core right-wing-leaning party. To this end, he pulled out all the stops to prevent far-right Likud member Moshe Feiglin from being elected to a realistic spot on the party’s slate. Netanyahu believed that if Feiglin, considered a radical right-wing settler, did win a spot on the list, the party would lose about four Knesset seats.

In the following elections in 2013, Feiglin secured a realistic spot on the slate (ranked 23) and became a Knesset member. In that campaign, the so-called princes found themselves drummed out. Begin and Meridor were punished for trying to defend the rule of law.

The Likud slate was painted at the time in radical right-wing colors, and not just because of Feiglin. Other Knesset members associated with the settlers, such as current Minister of Immigration and Absorption Zeev Elkin, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Hotovely, were also ranked relatively high.