It will take a long time for Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz to recover from the politically humiliating blow from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Aug. 17. He might never come back entirely from Netanyahu scolding him over the series of resolutions Katz passed at the Likud secretariat, and certainly not as long as the prime minister serves as Likud chairman and prime minister.

While Katz is licking his wounds and attempting to convince the public that the prime minister did not really threaten to fire him, it is highly doubtful that another Likud minister will ever consider leading an oppositional move against Netanyahu. The Likud, a democratic movement known for its pluralism and vigorous internal political discourse, is fast becoming an emasculated party with no potential future leaders. Its leadership reserves have been systematically eliminated or neutralized by the prime minister, and the consequences for the post-Netanyahu era could be devastating for the ruling party.

Therefore, the below-the-belt hit should not be handled as a personal quarrel between the prime minister and his transportation minister, but as an incident with serious ramifications for the Likud movement.

Let us return to the week that Katz would prefer to forget. On Aug. 16, the Likud secretariat officially convened. The secretariat is viewed as the Likud’s strongest institution, and as its head, Katz enjoyed great political power in the party and bargaining power with the prime minister. Katz is also widely appreciated as a proactive transportation minister who gets things done with regard to national enterprises, especially after he initiated the light rail project in Tel Aviv and the paving of the tunnel for the high-speed train between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.