Likud primaries: list for Knesset elections outlined

With 91.2% of the votes counted in the Likud primaries held yesterday, the list of candidates is emerging in view of the Knesset elections on 27 October.

In first place - after the head of the party, Benyamin Netanyahu, who opens the list - is Eli Cohen, Minister of Energy, followed by the President of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, the Minister of Transport, Miri Regev, and the leader of the coalition, Ofir Katz.

Places 6 and 7 go to the current ministers of Education, Yoav Kisch, and Culture, Miki Zohar. The first surprise is in place 8, where the new entry Almog Cohen is positioned, having recently left Itamar Ben Gvir's party, announcing his candidacy in the Likud only last week. The controversial parliamentarian Tali Gotliv is the second woman who ranks, in place 12, in the top two tens - the only ones which, according to the polls, are realistic. Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi in place 13 and Economy Minister Nir Barkat in place 16, considered very in the balance: in fact, 10 places in the first two dozen of the electoral list were guaranteed to Netanyahu through his personal appointments, causing the preferred candidates to move from the primaries to places considered at risk, since in the polls the Likud is currently given around 23-26 seats.

If the current results and projections were confirmed, this would mean that at least 5 of the current ministers would not enter the next Parliament.