Responding to the demand of the Blue & White party to commence work on the 2021 state budget within the next few days, Finance Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) said that Blue & White are simply playing politics as they become increasingly irrelevant on the political scene.
In an interview on Galei Tzahal, Katz said that, “Blue & White are becoming more and more marginalized. After succeeding in getting this stupid law passed that says that we have to finalize the budget by December 23, they’re wasting time talking about nothing.”
Katz added that, “The Prime Minister already showed that he would give preference to considerations of state over purely political concerns, and now it’s clear that if the budget passes there won’t be elections in December.”
Katz also dismissed the words of fellow Likud MK Miki Zohar, who said earlier this week that political considerations were being taken into account regarding the formulation and timing of the 2021 budget. “Zohar’s words don’t reflect the position of the Finance Ministry,” he insisted. “We are advancing plans for the 2021 budget according to the timetable we already published, solely according to professional considerations.”
In a separate interview on Reshet Kan Bet, Blue & White leader Defense Minister Benny Gantz hinted that he may decide to investigate the possibility of forming an alternative government with the current Knesset composition. “All the efforts of the Treasury and state apparatus need to be channeled now into getting the 2021 budget passed,” he said. “I didn’t enter this government in order to serve as Netanyahu’s lackey – I did so in order to serve the citizens of Israel.”