Livni and Herzog…. are going together into a coalition supported by the Arab voters. That is the big change that is underway. The only way to prevent that is massive voter turnout on the opposite side of the political map – Likud voters and my supporters. That is the only way to prevent their efforts to dilute the Likud vote and deflect the votes toward the “social” parties and the Left with the help of the Arabs.
In the end, there will be a unity government, won’t there?
I don’t foresee such a government, and I want to emphasize that there will not be.
Not even one headed by you?
No. Because today’s Labor Party is different than what I remember of it. Once upon a time we disagreed on managing the economy, on free market principles, and government oversight. They also wanted territorial concessions that we refused to make. But today the Labor Party is infused with an anti-Zionist element that entirely throws off the balance. Now there are candidates on the Labor list that talk about Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, being racist and that they don’t identify with it; that mothers shouldn’t send their sons to the army. It is a different Labor Party. They did change their name to the Zionist Union, but there are certainly anti-Zionist elements there. There is good reason why they don’t use the “Zionist Union” moniker in the ads they use in the Arab sector. They are not natural partners in the coalition. Therefore, if I establish a unity government with them it would soon collapse. My goal is to establish a true national government with Likud and our natural partners.
You have been accused of reverting to the Iranian threat to divert attention from the economic issue.
We have addressed the economic issue in a way that no government before us ever has. We accomplished a lot in the economic social realm. True, there is plenty of work left to do but I would like to remind everyone of Israel’s economic growth, which already exists, which led to low unemployment that has been maintained here for decades. The number of employed Israelis is constantly on the rise. We increased participation in the work force, among the ultra-Orthodox as well.
In addition, we built an unprecedented transportation infrastructure in a way that hasn’t been seen since the establishment of the state. We broke up the natural gas monopoly and drove down energy prices, which in turn reduced food prices. We identified the problem in the housing market and we are planning to increase the housing supply by building 100,000 new units in lots that will be cleared for that purpose in high-demand areas in central Israel. We will reinstate the mortgage subsidies that [Finance Minister Yair] Lapid did away with. Having already lowered the customs tax, we will cancel the value added tax on basic staples under supervision. This will translate into savings for consumers.
All these things will ease the burden and reverse the trend in the rising cost of living.
(Israel Hayom via JNS)