MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) spoke Wednesday morning about what his party will demand in coalition negotiations following the November elections.
"There are things which need a government decision, and there are things which an incoming minister can carry out," Porush explained on Kol Hai Radio. "Everything is built by how the coalition agreement will be written. We know how to write a coalition agreement."
"Our list of demands to fix the situation on so many issues is long, and there is no doubt that everything will be put into the coalition agreement. But the most important thing, and maybe the most difficult to carry out, is the Override Clause in order to prevent harm to our principles and demands. We went to elections four times and it didn't succeed, that means G-d wants us to try again."
When asked about the positions his party would demand in the next government, Porush said, "First of all, with us whether to sit in a government is a question in itself. We do not prefer to be ministers. It's clear that the Council of Torah Sages has decided this, so on the issue of [former Health Minister Yakov] Litzman it was only because of the Supreme Court decision that required him to be a minister and not a deputy minister."
When asked about UTJ chief Yitzhak Goldknopf's desire for the party to hold the Finance Ministry, Porush said, "If I want to say something to Goldknopf on this issue, I'll tell him directly, but you understand how it sounds that 'the haredim want the cash.' We will sit and make our decisions in a party meeting, and we will see what is more worthwhile to request. The question is what you place at the top of the ladder."
Regarding whether the party would join a government led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the National Unity party, he said, "I suggest [Construction and Housing Minister Ze'ev] Elkin (National Unity), who took the city of Shafir away from the haredim, forget about bringing the haredim into a government with Gantz."
"We need to remember that Elkin told everyone that the haredim would be with him in the Jerusalem municipal elections, afterwards he thought he would bring them into a Bennett-Lapid government that he would be the patron of. In the end, this didn't happen, and it won't happen."