Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left for China overnight Sunday, amid the crisis in the coalition and the dispute with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon over the new public broadcaster.
Netanyahu wishes to keep the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and cancel the formation of the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) which was supposed to replace it. Kahlon insists that the IPBC launch on time.
Kahlon ordered the IBA to close on April 30, in preparation for the creation of the IPBC and in accordance with a law passed by the last government which dissolves the IBA and creates the new broadcaster.
“The government is based on coalition agreements, and there is a coalition agreement that says clearly that all parties are beholden to the decisions of the Likud on communications issues, including the new public broadcaster,” Netanyahu told reporters on Saturday night before his plane took off.
“During my meeting with employees of the IBA, and I must tell you it was a heartbreaking meeting, I found out that there is no budget problem. First of all, the budget of the IBA: Its actual expenses for their this year are less than the budget of the IPBC and they are willing to improve efficiency further,” he added.
“There is no budgetary problem – so what do we need the IPBC for? There can’t be a situation in which Likud, with 30 Knesset seats, respects every part of the coalition agreements of the small parties, including things we don’t agree with…but when it comes to our parts of the agreement, which are important to the Likud and to me, they are not respected. That’s unacceptable to us,” stressed Netanyahu.
While the Prime Minister did not specifically address the issue of elections in his remarks, reports earlier on Saturday indicated that Netanyahu would dissolve the coalition and call for elections unless Kahlon agrees to cancel the agreement the two reached, according to which the IPBC will launch operations on April 30.
In November, Netanyahu did indicate he would dissolve the government and call for elections if the IPBC begins operations.