Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced Friday that he has decided to step down following the decision to indict him, in a move that could have repercussions on the upcoming general election.
Lieberman said that the decision was made despite the fact the he is under no obligation to do so legally.
“Though I know I committed no crime … I have decided to resign my post as foreign minister and deputy prime minister,” Lieberman said in an emailed statement, adding that he hoped to clear his name “without delay”.
Opinion polls have predicted that the right-wing party of Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would win the Jan. 22 election, and it was not clear if his removal from the race would hurt their chances.
(Reuters)
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One Response
He neither resigned from the knesset nor withdrew from the election. He’s still the Likud #2. While he gives up a few weeks of “cabinet” pay, that’s all he gives up. In return he gets more free time to campaign.
It is quite likely that his supporters preceive this as a political prosecution, and it won’t hurt him politically, and may help.