Expressing disappointment over the ongoing coalition negotiations, Likud Minister of the Interior Gilad Erdan feels Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should explore establishing a coalition with the Labor party.
Erdan feels the smaller parties are trying to extort Likud and the prime minister, aware of the deadline to present the coalition to President Reuven Rivlin.
Speaking to the “London & Kirschenbaum” news magazine program on Channel 10, Erdan explained it appears portfolios including Health, Education, Interior and Housing will not remain in Likud hands. “This concerns me and this should concern Likud voters that wish to see the prime minister and his party run the nation”.
Erdan explains that if the smaller parties are unyielding in their demands, it may be worthwhile to probe a deal with the Labor party, which has 24 seats. “I do not think a national unity coalition is preferable as we must try to cling to the promises made to voters, to establish a nationalist coalition” he added.
“However, the demands from the small parties are intolerable and time is running out. Hence it is legitimate for the prime minister to present a generous proposal to Labor and perhaps this will send a message to the smaller parties that they are getting carried away with their demands”.
Erdan is adamantly opposed to Avigdor Lieberman remaining in the post of foreign minister. “I recall during Operation Protective Edge that Lieberman convened a press conference to speak out against his own cabinet”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Negotiating tactic to cut the squabbling perhaps
Many of those who voted Likud
were lukewarm and only did it to keep Labor out
They prefer being with the smaller parties.
There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honour.
Benjamin Disraeli
With Bayit Yehudi, Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas making totally absurd demands on Likud, it isn’t like Netanyahu has a choice. It is unlikely that anyone who switched his vote to Likud in order to keep Labor out will consider switching his loyalties back to the parties that forced Likud’s hand. Netanyahu wanted a Right-Religious coalition, but the small parties demand most of the seats in the cabinet even though they didn’t get all that many votes in the election.