The Finance Ministry has released details of the expected cost of the new unity government currently being formed. The coalition agreements are expected to include 36 ministerial appointments and 16 deputy ministers. According to the Finance Ministry's report, such an expansion of the size of the government will cost around 117 million shekels per year, and the amendments to the law for financing political parties will cost around 6 million shekels per year, according to Channel 12 News reports.
The document also notes that adding four ministers to the government costs 26 million shekels per year. There are currently 29 ministries in the government, and therefore the increase to 36 ministries is expected to cost around 21 million shekels - without factoring in the cost of office staff and so forth, which adds another 47 million shekels to the budget.