Minister Amichai Chikli takes a jab at Bennett: "He forgot that we are public servants"

Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli was interviewed on the "Noon Journal" program with Ido Tauber on Channel 14, in the midst of the primary election day today (Monday) to determine the Likud list for the next Knesset. Chikli, who is touring polling stations across the country, shared his impressions from the field and called on all members of the movement to exercise their democratic right and choose a team that will lead to a decisive victory in the general elections.

"Voters provide power against deals"

At the beginning of his remarks, Minister Chikli noted that he and his team are "plowing the country, going from branch to branch, enjoying the experience and the challenge." He further called on all registered Likud members to vote in order to bring a serious, high-quality team to the fore. "The big challenge is ahead of us; we have a difficult election campaign, and we need the best people there are — serious, with steel ideology."

The minister addressed the power of independent voters against organized mechanisms:

"We also need to see that the free voters provide all the power against all sorts of appointees and deals. The importance of the free voters is enormous, and may we all have success with God's help."

"Primaries are like a marathon"

Regarding the transition from the status of a reserved candidate to direct competition among voters, Chikli said: "First of all, it is a tremendous experience. I think that the primaries actually express some kind of journey; it's like a marathon. The primaries are the last two kilometers of the race."

Chikli expressed optimism regarding the results: "With God's help, I am full of hope that the results will be as they should be, both on a personal level and for the people I appreciate within this movement. We have very strong candidates, Knesset members, and ministers, and we have all the tools to bring a very strong team to victory in the general elections."

"We are public servants — unlike Bennett"

When asked about future roles in the next government, he replied firmly: "I am very focused now on the race itself. I think it is not relevant now to crown anyone or discuss positions. Even after this, we have one of the toughest election campaigns we have known, and we need to be very, very focused."

In conclusion, the minister spoke about meeting supporters at the polling stations and did not forget to take a jab at former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, with whom he collaborated in the past:

"There is no experience more fun than when an activist or a voter arrives and says: 'You are on my ballot, I voted for you.' In the end, we are public servants, something that Bennett forgot back then. Getting seven mandates is nothing. Within this movement, it doesn't work like that. We are messengers of the voters, of the Likud people, and it is a huge privilege to run in free elections in the movement that is the successor to the Herut movement."