MK Ze'ev Elkin
MK Ze'ev ElkinFlash 90

Coalition chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) on Sunday denounced the derogatory comments made by MK Tzipi Livni against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a television program.

Livni, who appeared on the “Matzav HaUma” (State of the Union) satirical program on Channel 2, took satire to a different level and was perceived to have gone beyond the realms of political correctness.

"Two potential Prime Ministers are better than an impotent Prime Minister,” Livni said of her unity pact with Labor leader MK Yitzhak Herzog.

"Yitzhak and I decided to take out the garbage together," Livni said, hinting at Netanyahu. She later said, “The truth is that Bibi said that we’re going to elections because of the 0% VAT. I thought there is a zero in this story, but it’s not the VAT.”

Speaking to Arutz Sheva Sunday, Elkin said that Livni had “completely lost it” in her appearance on the show.

“What we saw last night is beyond who we saw during the previous Knesset term. Even in terms of style and expression level it seems that she completely lost it,” said Elkin, who added, “I want to see all the reporters who attacked me for calling [Livni and Herzog] ‘the beauty and the geek who will not pass the threshold’ speaking out against Livni now. I used parliamentary expressions but she stooped to a new low. But I guess the left is allowed to lash out using such crude expressions. This is probably part of the rules of the game.”

Elkin noted that he himself appeared on “Matzav HaUma” in the past but did not even think about using language similar to what Livni used.

“It may be indicative of an internal culture or a deep hatred Livni has for Netanyahu, but what interests me is the reaction of the media that has double standards and this is not the first time we see it, and every time I am amazed to see that,” he said.

“This campaign is not only against Netanyahu. The left is trying to return to power. The last time that Labor ruled was during the happy days of [Ehud] Barak,” continued Elkin. “Since that time there were centrist parties and the left was not in power, and it now feels that it has the opportunity, and the media is coming out in full force in support.”

He continued, “These elections were not personal. At first the media and the left tried to put a candidate whose name is ‘anyone but Bibi’, then they discovered that there’s no such person, so they invented the ‘two-headed candidate’ - a rotation between two prime ministers who will potentially bring twenty-some seats. In order to implement this vision they will have a few more partners, so why not divide the Prime Minister’s residence into four or five apartments and every five or six months they will change Prime Ministers?”

The choice in the coming elections, said Elkin, is very clear. “It is either the Likud party headed by Netanyahu who will be prime minister or Livni and Herzog who, along with [President] Obama and [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas will lead us back to the pre-1967 borders. This is the agenda of these elections,” he declared.