Zehut chairman and former Likud MK Moshe Feiglin said his party would refuse to back any candidate for prime minister unless Zehut’s core demands are met, including support for the legalization of marijuana.
Feiglin, the former leader of the right-wing Zo Artzenu (This is Our Land) movement and a one-time Likud MK, said his new Zehut party would refuse to join any potential coalition which did not accept its list of demands, including decriminalization of marijuana use.
“We don’t care about procedure – we care about results,” Feiglin said at a conference hosted by the Maariv newspaper on Wednesday. “In the meantime, sick people are dying. We don’t care if credit for legalization goes to the opposition or the coalition, or to some other party.”
“Zehut will not sit in any coalition that does not pass legalization during the first [Knesset] session.”
The libertarian-leaning Zehut party’s platform includes both ending restrictions on medicinal marijuana, and decriminalization of recreational use of the drug. The party, which was formed after the 2015 elections, has pulled above the minimum threshold in recent polls, and is currently polling at between four to seven seats.
Feiglin also said at the Maariv conference that he would not necessarily recommend Netanyahu for the premiership, saying his recommendation would be based on the offers he receives from the top candidates.
“It depends on who offers more. Both sides will reach out to us, and we will take seriously anyone who contacts us. We aren’t in anyone’s pocket.”
The former Likud MK accused the media of spreading “fake news” reports, based on claims pushed by rival parties, designed to frighten off voters from Zehut.
“Powerful forces are working to maintain the status quo,” said Feiglin. “The other parties and people in the media are spreading fake news taken from their message boards in order to frighten the public away from the only party which plans on actually doing what it says, and which doesn’t hide it. They want to ensure that what there is will continue to be, that their power centers will remain intact.”