Gantz: Not all are interested in avoiding elections
Alternate Prime Minister and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said he was doing everything to avoid new elections but that he was “not convinced that everyone shares this interest,” in a thinly veiled reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking on Channel 12 News in a prerecorded interview Saturday night, Gantz said that going to elections would be detrimental to society and the economy and said that if his stance would be politically damaging then he would pay the price.
The Blue and White leader was speaking in the background of an ever deepening fight over the state budget, which if not passed by August 25 will lead to the automatic dissolution of the Knesset and new elections.
The coalition agreement between Blue and White and Likud states explicitly that a two-year budget must be passed, but Netanyahu is insisting on passing just a one-year budget.
Passing a one-year budget would give Netanyahu his last opportunity to topple the government without passing the premiership over the Gantz, something which might happen if a budget for 2021 is not passed by the end of March.
Speaking about the situation, Gantz said that elections “can always happen,” but added that he believed they would be bad for the country and were unnecessary.
“I will do everything so that there will not be elections, I am not sure that this interest is shared by everyone to the same extent,” he said in a not-too-subtle reference to Netanyahu.
Gantz said the agreement for a two-year budget would create “political stability” which in turn would create “economic stability.”
He added that “The person who wants to endanger society, the person who wants to endanger the economy is welcome to go to elections. I won’t do it,” adding that he would devote himself to trying to do good for the country.
“I will dedicate myself for this, and if I end up being a political sucker, so be it.”
The August 25 budget deadline is now just a month away, with the legislative process, including lengthy committee hearings, taking usually six weeks just for a one-year budget.
The Derech Eretz party of Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel and MK Tzvi Hauser is, however, reportedly set to introduce legislation to extend that deadline, giving both sides longer to come to an agreement.