Likud took a sharp turn to the right this week as the party members elected the Knesset candidates list for the elections on January 22.

Among the new faces on the list is Moshe Feiglin, the leader of the radical Jewish Leadership group within Likud who has finally succeeded on his fourth attempt in getting on the list. Mr Feiglin, who was convicted in 1997 of sedition, was informed in 2008 by the Home Office that he was banned from entering Britain.

Three veteran Likud ministers, Benny Begin (pictured), Dan Meridor and Michael Eitan were pushed off the list as the membership opted for much more radical representatives. The trio had been accused numerous times of blocking proposals by Likud backbenchers that would have limited the powers of the Supreme Court and prevented civil-rights NGOs from receiving foreign funding.

But most Likudniks rejected the characterisation of the new list. “Every time Likud selects its candidates, the media says they have lurched right,” said MK Yariv Levin. “When Benny Begin was elected they said he was a right-wing extremist. Now he is out, they say he is a moderate.”

Dan Meridor is already having talks with Tzipi Livni about joining her list.