"Anyone who joins this government must accept the policies the prime minister and I are leading," Netanyahu told businessmen Sunday at a Tel Aviv conference in Tel Aviv. "We will not bust the budget," he added.
The Labor Party, which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is trying to woo into a new coalition, has sharply criticized Netanyahu's fiscal policies and has demanded changes, particularly less cuts in social spending.
Even if Sharon win's Likud Central Committee approval Thursday to bring Labor into the government, arguments over the budget might jeopardize the deal. Netanyahu Sunday stood firm that he would not allow the deficit to exceed three per cent of the gross national product, the limit the United States has demanded in return for $9 billion in loan guarantees.
The current proposed budget, which stands almost no chance of being approved before the end of 2004, already assumes a three per cent deficit. Furthermore, it does not take into account about one billion dollars to carry out the plan to expel more than 8,000 Jews out of 25 communities in Gush Katif, south of Ashkelon, and in northern Samaria. The government automatically will fall if the budget is not approved by the end of March.
Netanyahu's initiatives include economic reforms, such as cuts for child allowances and abolishment of monopolies, policies which many Labor Party MKs oppose.
The Labor Party, which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is trying to woo into a new coalition, has sharply criticized Netanyahu's fiscal policies and has demanded changes, particularly less cuts in social spending.
Even if Sharon win's Likud Central Committee approval Thursday to bring Labor into the government, arguments over the budget might jeopardize the deal. Netanyahu Sunday stood firm that he would not allow the deficit to exceed three per cent of the gross national product, the limit the United States has demanded in return for $9 billion in loan guarantees.
The current proposed budget, which stands almost no chance of being approved before the end of 2004, already assumes a three per cent deficit. Furthermore, it does not take into account about one billion dollars to carry out the plan to expel more than 8,000 Jews out of 25 communities in Gush Katif, south of Ashkelon, and in northern Samaria. The government automatically will fall if the budget is not approved by the end of March.
Netanyahu's initiatives include economic reforms, such as cuts for child allowances and abolishment of monopolies, policies which many Labor Party MKs oppose.