No One Wants Him: The 'Quality' Candidates on Netanyahu's Radar Keep Refusing

Ahead of the elections, Netanyahu is trying to recruit strong candidates for Likud, but senior figures like Gabi Ashkenazi, Yuval Steinitz, Yossi Cohen, and Ron Dermer are refusing. The article quotes Yoav Horowitz, his former confidant, who said Netanyahu knows he will lose to Gadi Eisenkot but will never give up. Likud has no campaign, and the attacks on Eisenkot are seen as weak. Also, Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein have formed a new party, which worries Netanyahu.

Ahead of the upcoming elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing difficulties in recruiting quality candidates for the Likud list. The article quotes Yoav Horowitz, who was the head of staff in Netanyahu's office and director general of the Prime Minister's Office, who said in an interview with Yaron Abraham that Netanyahu knows he will lose the election to Gadi Eisenkot, but will never raise his hands. Horowitz, who manages Eisenkot's 100-day project, claims that Likud has no campaign, and the attacks on Eisenkot are seen as pathetic and worn out. Netanyahu is trying to convince figures like Gabi Ashkenazi, Yuval Steinitz, Yossi Cohen, and Ron Dermer to join Likud, but all have refused so far. He also approached bereaved families like Avida Bachar and Talik Gavili, but they also refused. Meanwhile, Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, who left Likud, announced the formation of a new party, which worries Netanyahu. Likud denies that Erdan received a safe-seat offer. The article notes that more than half of the Likud list is expected to be ousted in the upcoming primaries, and Netanyahu would be happy if 90% of them were ousted. He despises most of the current list members, saying, "With such a list, you don't bring governance." The elections are expected to take place on October 27, and the October 7 massacre is at the center.