The Likud primary can be neatly summed up by the sunny – and entirely false – statement issued on Tuesday by party chairman Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the results were published.

“The Likud slate reflects renewal and the integration of new forces at the top of the list,” Netanyahu wrote.

No, it doesn’t. The Likud slate is a faded copy of the previous one, boasting neither renewal nor new forces, and above all, representing a sharp decline in both quality and moral standards.

The top 10 spots still feature, just as they previously did, Energy Minister Eli Cohen, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Transportation Minister Miri Regev.

To these is added the reserved slot for Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar — a former senior Likud member who defected to form the rival New Hope party, spent years vowing never to sit with Netanyahu, and has now returned to the Likud fold in exchange for a guaranteed political lifeline. This makes Sa’ar a glaring symbol of bad politics, opportunistic defection, and the blatant political horse-trading of the current generation.

Familiar, lackluster faces fill the second 10 spots on Netanyahu’s slate as well.

The list includes the semi-anonymous coalition whip Ofir Katz, Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Regional Cooperation Minister Dudi Amsalem, and MK Moshe Saada.

And of course, this group also includes that oh-so-charismatic, handpicked candidate, Tourism Minister Haim Katz.

Haim Katz is a formidable behind-the-scenes power broker who commands massive influence over the Likud Central Committee and the powerful Israel Aerospace Industries workers’ union. But he’s also someone Likud members would have happily pushed down to an unrealistic spot alongside his political proxy, MK Eti Atiya, who was ousted from the slate on Tuesday.

Katz was handed the reserved No. 18 spot only after striking a dubious quid pro quo with Netanyahu over the party’s reserved slots – a mechanism in the Likud constitution that allows the chairman to reserve specific places on the Knesset slate for candidates of his choosing, bypassing the democratic primary vote entirely and diluting the power of the rank and file.

Normally, Netanyahu would receive three such slots to fill at his discretion. This time around, the premier cut a deal with Katz: He received eight reserved slots in the top 30, but included........

© The Times of Israel