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With Likud trailing Labor/The Movement by a number of seats according to all election polls, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) on Sunday morning 24 Adar that if he assembles the next coalition government, Kulanu party leader Moshe Kahlon will serve as Israel’s next finance minister with regard to how many seats Kulanu receives.
In his response, Kahlon told the press “Netanyahu also promised me the Israel Lands Administration and the treasury and did not make good on it. It is not a personal issue but one of a path and concern for others. I must have enough electoral strength to compel him to keep his word so we can continue in our path in any coalition, Herzog or Netanyahu, and not the failed path of [former Finance Minister Yair] Lapid”.
The prime minister told radio host Razi Barkai “I cannot assemble a coalition without him. Kahlon and I are together to solve the housing problem as well as to address the high cost of living, as was done to break the cellular telephone companies”.
Mr. Netanyahu made the same remarks in interviews with other media including Israel Radio’s Aryeh Golan.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Kahlon was a pretty decent chap ,but this/is was way above his pay grade
The bigger puzzle:who are puppeteers behind him in control his strings
Netanyahu is simply trying to weaken Kahlon by making Kahlon’s supporters think he is a shoo-in for Finance Minister, so they need not even bother voting for him and can instead vote Likud. But if Kahlon doesn’t get enough seats, Netanyahu can in a heartbeat backtrack and break his promise and not give Kahlon the Finance ministry if Netanyahu feels he doesn’t need him or can get away with giving him something less.
But if Likud isn’t willing to call off the war on hareidim, Kahlon may be leading a ministry in Herzog’s government.