The Likud on Sunday officially began preparations for its party primaries, which will be held on August 4th.
Despite the consensus on the date of the primaries, Israel's ruling party is far from reaching agreements regarding the structure of its final list of candidates, and behind the scenes, tensions are high.
The main point of contention is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand to be granted unprecedented power to reserve spots on the list.
Netanyahu is demanding 11 reserved spots for his candidates out of the first 40 on the party's list, a move that would significantly reduce the chances of currently sitting MKs and of district candidates to be elected to realistic spots.
In opposition to this demand is Likud Central Committee Chairman Minister Haim Katz, who is refusing to allow such depreciation of the Central Committee members' and party members' voting power. So far, Katz and Netanyahu have not reached an understanding, and the official decision regarding reserved spots has been deferred to July.