The territory won the cases: the results of the Labor primaries prove - a seat in the government is not the key to success

The list chosen by the labor officials shows that the party has replaced one tradition with another. Instead of being a party that impeaches its leaders - it has become a party that impeaches its members. The relegation of ministers Bar Lev and Shai to unrealistic positions - and the rise of the less experienced MKs points to the general rule: it is better A chair in the Knesset from the minister's office

His dew

09/08/2022

Tuesday, August 9, 2022, 10:23 p.m. Updated: 10:35 p.m.

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On video: The primaries for the job list: Naama Lazimi in second place (Photo: Yotam Ronen)

For years, the Labor Party was considered a party that impeaches its leaders.

The party leaders, one by one, were ousted after only one term.

The current chairman of the party Merav Michaeli broke this tradition last month and made history when she became the first female chairwoman to be elected to a second term while still in office.

However, from the results of the primaries for the party list that took place tonight, it becomes clear that the Labor Party simply replaced one tradition with another. Instead of being a party that removes its leaders - It has become a party that impeaches its ministers.

The two ministers who served alongside Michaeli in the government - BTP Minister Amr Bar Lev and Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai - were ranked in unrealistic positions.

The two, who were placed in the 9th and 17th places respectively, will probably not be elected to the next Knesset, since according to the latest polls the party wins only 6-7 places.

Both Bar Lev and Shai reached the end of their political careers with a glorious public career behind them in the public, political and security fields.

Last year, when they returned to the Labor Party to help Michali rebuild it from the ground up, their faces, familiar names and experience were invaluable.

But since then a lot of water has passed in the lake.

Both received positions in the government, but had a troubled term with a series of outbursts and controversial statements that put them at the heart of public criticism.

Bar Lev entered one of the most complex offices in the government, the Ministry of Internal Security, which is considered a cursed office from which no minister comes out unscathed.

Indeed, he too fell under the curse of the ministry.

He actually had excellent relations with the top of the police, but he repeatedly fell foul of his tongue, got involved in unnecessary outbursts and censorship offenses, which cast a heavy shadow on his work.

Also, Shai, as the Diaspora Minister, has been involved in recent months in a series of controversial statements concerning the war in Ukraine, and this was the only way he was able to stand out.

However, it was not the language of Bar Lev and Shai that led to their failure in the primaries.

The clear conclusion that emerges from looking at the results of the Labor primaries is that a seat in the government is not a key to success.

On the contrary, it is much better to have a seat in the Knesset and especially a seat near the activists in the field.

The two members of the Knesset who were elected in the first places on the list, Naama Lazimi and Gilad Karib, were both prominent parliamentarians, and also the most prominent in field activity in the past year and a half.

They put their feet between branches and activists and the result was reflected in the primaries.

Bar Lev (Photo: TPS, Shalu Shalom)

In general, in the face of the dismal results of the government ministers, the parliamentary victory of the team chosen this evening in the Labor primaries stands out for the better.

Apparently, those who sat in the government were cut off from the field and those who sat in the Knesset maintained contact with the activists.

Lazimi, who came in first place, grew up in the Labor Party since she was a teenager, and has been active in the party for years.

She was an active member of the finance committee and led the labor struggle for the changes in the state budget.

The same goes for the chairman of the Constitution Committee, Gilad Karib, who came in second place, who stood out during the course of the year in the matter-of-fact and efficient management of one of the most important committees in the Knesset. After him, Efrat Reiten, chairman of the Labor and Welfare Committee, who relative to Lazimi and Karib is "young" at work and joined it just before a year and a half.

Raiten worked intensively in the Knesset and also knew how to do politics and entered almost all the recommended lists that were in the party, and proved that action wins.

Raiten also beat Knesset member Emily Moati with her greater seniority in the party, and was the first woman in the previous primaries,

Further on the list, the chairman of the faction, Ram Shefa, who stood out for his parliamentary activity and his involvement in the management of the coalition. Shefa, who led the party's struggle for agricultural reform, managed to consolidate his power in the kibbutz district and maintain a realistic battle for a place on the list.

Another significant achievement was credited to Yair Yaya Pink , who came in seventh place and ranked third among men, overtaking Omer Bar Lev and Nachman Shai, who are much older than him. Fink, like Lazimi, grew up in the Labor Party since his youth and has been active in it for years. Both grew up under former Labor Party Chairman Sheli Yachimovich, who expressed including support in the primaries.

She also supported Kriev who came in first place among the men, and the results of the primaries mark a victory for the Yachimowitz camp in the party.

According to her associates, she has no intention of returning to politics, but there is no doubt that the results show that the social democratic camp she built is alive and kicking and definitely, for her, mark some kind of show of strength.

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Lazimi, this evening (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Member of Knesset Abtisam Mara'ana came in eighth place, and was pushed above Amr Bar Lev thanks to the gender reach-reach policy implemented by the chairman of the Labor Party, Merav Michaeli. At the moment, it seems that the place of Maraana, the only Arab Member of Knesset in the Labor Party, is not realistic.

There are two more reserved for Michaeli armors that she can place in the top ten, and it is not impossible that she will now try to decorate the list with an attractive face in order to leverage the momentum from the primaries and push back other candidates. The fact that there are candidates on the list with independent strength who grew up in the party without connection to her, such as Lazimi and Pink, can turn her life around more complex than they have been up to now, and she has an interest in bringing in people who will be loyal to her within the faction in the Knesset. The question is whether in the current state of the Labor Party, with five-six mandates in the polls, the armor can make a significant difference.

The main challenge for Michaeli and the team that was chosen alongside her is still ahead of them.

The polls show that the Labor Party is in a problematic situation and as the closing date of the lists approaches, the pressure to unify with March may increase.

Michaeli's team is young and attractive, but it is not certain that this will be enough to lift the party in the polls.

• 2022 election

Tags

• the "Avoda" party

• primaries

• Marev Michaeli