Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to move up the Likud Party's leadership primaries and to hold them in just a few months. That’s what senior party officials claim, despite denials issued by Netanyahu’s office over the last few days.
According to senior Likud officials, Netanyahu would like to hold the primaries in early 2014, preferably January or February. The reason for the move is to establish his status as chairman of the movement and to free himself from the burden of internal party politics, which could weigh him down throughout his tenure as prime minister.