According to a senior official in the Likud party, the decision of the Likud to support a bill to delay the passage of the budget was made in deference to the request of the Derech Eretz party, which proposed it, in order to make one last attempt at a compromise between the Likud and Blue and White and forestall new elections.
Blue and White and Likud have long been involved in a dispute regarding whether to legislate a budget for one or two years, with Likud favoring a one-year budget for 2020 alone, even though only a few months of the year remain, in addition to the fact that the coalition accords provided for a two-year budget.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, head of the Shas party, has announced that his party would support the bill when it comes before the Knesset for its preliminary reading this Wednesday.
The Likud had argued that a one-year budget was preferable as that it was impossible to know how the coronavirus crisis would play out in the coming months, while Blue and White has insisted that a two-year budget remained the preferred option.