The change in leadership of Likud will therefore not take place. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains the head of the right-wing party after winning the primary elections held on Thursday, December 26. According to the final results published Friday, he won 72.5% of the vote, against 27.5% for his rival Gideon Saar, who had tried to compete with him. Netanyahu now intends to build on this new victory to cement his grip on the party, despite his two successive failures to form a government following the April and September elections and his triple indictment in corruption cases. His goal is now to win the poll on March 2, the third in less than a year, to secure a right-wing majority and have him vote for parliamentary immunity in the hopes of escaping justice.
On hearing the first results of the vote, on the night of Thursday to Friday, the Israeli Prime Minister welcomed a "Immense victory", before thanking the members of Likoud for their " trust ", their "Support" and their "Love". He then promised them to "Lead Likud to a big victory". According to the polls, only 49.5% of the 116,048 party members would have gone to vote.
After acknowledging his defeat, Gideon Saar pledged to support Mr. Netanyahu and his party in the run-up to the legislative elections in just over two months. "This election was vital for Likud and its democratic nature", he nevertheless added, to justify his participation in the primaries: “My decision to compete was fair and necessary. "
Zealous activists
For a long time, Gideon Saar has been considered one of the potential successors of Mr. Netanyahu at the head of Likud. He does not hide his ambition to also become, one day, Prime Minister. Netanyahu has always sought to undermine his political aspirations, by exercising extreme control over his party and countering the emergence of a new generation of competitors.
As early as October, during the negotiations for the formation of a government, following the September election, Gideon Saar had nevertheless announced that he was " ready " to participate in internal elections for the succession to the leadership of Likud. He confirmed his participation in the December 26 primaries after parliamentarians failed to form a majority and the dissolution of the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – on December 11, leading to a new legislative election.
