During Israel's 2015 elections, last-minute exit polls all pointed to a draw between the Likud and Zionist Union parties. But once all the ballots had been counted, the actual results proved a significant deviation from the exit polls' findings. The Likud won 30 Knesset seats to the Zionist Union's 24.
This is but one example of the difficult time both the media and the Israeli public have had deciphering the Likud and the man at its head in recent years. They have said of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is an all-powerful figure in the Likud; a "dictator" whose word is heeded by all. That is simply not the case. That same "dictator" used all the weight of his influence against Gideon Sa'ar and yet Sa'ar still ended up in the top five in the Likud's Knesset list. Sa'ar's candidate also defeated Netanyahu's in the Tel Aviv district. Moreover, the people Netanyahu wanted high up in the list, like Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and MK Amir Ohana were all pushed out to disappointing slots on the Likud's Knesset list.
There were quite a few winners in the Likud party primaries, chief among them Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. It is tough to say what brought Edelstein more joy on Wednesday; the fact that he overcame 150 opponents to make it to the top slot [behind Netanyahu] or that the object of his hatred, Oren Hazan, was kept off the party list.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan was knocked down two spots in the Knesset list since the last Likud primaries. But a third-place showing is actually very respectable for Erdan when one takes into consideration the fact that he was kept out of a few major deals as head of an unpopular ministry. The Public Security Ministry has been the target of criticism for its involvement in the investigations into Netanyahu but also the police shooting of Israeli citizen of Ethiopian descent Yehuda Biadga, which drew the anger of the party's Ethiopian-Israeli voters.
Another winner is Immigration and Absorption Minister Yoav Gallant, who up until just a few weeks ago belonged to another party altogether! Gallant has succeeded in clinching a respectable sixth spot on the Knesset list. Former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who once belonged to the Kadima party, also made into the top 10 thanks to an extensive grassroots campaign.
Beyond these initial achievements, the Likud has marked a double victory. First, in that at a time when political parties are determining their lists in a dictatorial fashion, democratic elections within a party are no longer something to be taken for granted. And second, Likud voters have for years been depicted as primitive. Critics looked down on them as hooligans and highlighted any and every provocation by minor party figures. On Tuesday, those same "hooligans" showed the lawmakers associated with the provocations and conspiracies the door, and consolidated a balanced and, more importantly, a stately and dignified party list.
