MK Nir Barkat, who is the Likud candidate for Finance Minister in the next government, spoke on Friday at the Leumiada, an annual weekend retreat for Likud members taking place in the resort city of Eilat.
"I feel that we are headed toward victory. Netanyahu will continue to lead us and the national camp to the upcoming victory. I thank Netanyahu for asking me to be the next Finance Minister of Israel," he said.
Barkat criticized the Blue and White party and its chairman Benny Gantz, in the wake of the decision of Acting State Attorney Dan Eldad to order that a criminal investigation be launched into Gantz’s former company, Fifth Dimension.
“Gantz, who is a candidate for Prime Minister, has no understanding of economics and he failed the first test by going bankrupt. Can we allow Gantz to the lead the State of Israel with 500 billion shekels?"
"If Gantz would come today and ask to make an investment, would anyone bet even one shekel on Gantz?" Barkat asked. "The first thing we will do is reduce food prices in Israel and alongside that we will support our farmers and improve their situation. We will drastically reduce housing prices in Israel.”
“We will invest in our health system, which is one of the best in the world, and increase the number of hospitals in Israel. I know how to make the periphery attractive with a combination of Zionism and the love of the Land of Israel. That is my vision and we will make it happen immediately after the elections."
"The next reform - small businesses. We have to make it easy for them and let them grow because they are the engine of Israel's growth. They ask where the money is? Today I give you my word that we will implement the plans backed by the Prime Minister. In order for us to able to do all of this, and we are close to victory, we have to bring out 300,000 Likudniks who did not come to the polls. We need 3 more seats and we will win," concluded Barkat.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)