Likud turns right

When the results of the Likud primary became known yesterday, party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the new leadership would "bring back hope, security and pride to the country." It appears it was no mistake that the word "peace" did not appear on the list of challenges Netanyahu read out. The list's human composition teaches us about its worldview and expected policies more than all its "economic peace."

A quick glance at the top 30 candidates reveals a right-wing, if not extreme right-wing group that has opposed any iota of a peace initiative, from the Olso Accords to the Annapolis Declaration. Likud's voters have raised the curtain to reveal a team that includes people who revolted against Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan and have reservations about the peace agreement signed by Menachem Begin with Egypt.

Likud's list for the Knesset is not in line with the image of the moderate statesman that Netanyahu is trying to create. Whether Netanyahu was aiming at the same objective, or whether the party has deviated to the right more than he would have wished, the result is in no way ambiguous. Most of the leading candidates built their reputations on support for the settlement enterprise, opposition to any concessions toward the Palestinians and protests against the attempt to renew negotiations with Syria. A few of them stood out because of their initiatives to clip the wings of the High Court of Justice.

Netanyahu devoted a great deal of effort to isolating Moshe Feiglin and presenting him as a member of the lunatic fringe that is not part and parcel of the party. But Feiglin, who gained a respectable place on the list (20th), is surrounded by colleagues whose political vision is no different from his. Above him on the list are veteran politicians such as Reuven Rivlin (4th place) and Benny Begin (5th), who vehemently attacked Netanyahu when he signed the Hebron agreement and the Wye River Accords with Yasser Arafat.

A short distance behind them in the 8th slot is Moshe Ya'alon, who uses his prestige as a former chief of staff to dash any hope of ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.

Dan Meridor, who in the past few years adopted moderate positions, was forced to make do with the 17th spot. The third group of 10, which according to opinion polls has a realistic chance of being elected to the Knesset, is filled with figures from Likud's hawkish wing.

The bad news is that an important party that held the reins of power for many years did not have the sense to put at its helm people who can offer an alternative to the old Likud, whose path was strewn with security and political crises. As prime minister from 1996 to 1999, Netanyahu observed the international reality and regional challenges up close, so we could have expected him to try to put at his side a pragmatic and balanced team instead of wooing an aggressive general, retired athlete and mediocre entertainer.

The good news is that the old-new list sharpens the differences between Likud, Kadima and the Labor Party. Voters who believe that perpetuating the situation in the territories endangers Israel's future as a Jewish state, threatens its international ties and undermines its relations with its Arab neighbors will now have an easier time choosing the ballot slip that suits their worldview.