'Early elections possible if budget not passed'
09/13/2012 02:38
PM's legal adviser admits for first time that early elections may need to be held in early 2013 instead of October of that year.
Knesset building Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that early
elections may be held, speaking through his lawyer to a Likud party court on
Wednesday.
“Legally, elections are supposed to take place in October
2013, but there is a possibility that they will take place in the first half of
2013 if no agreement is reached on the 2013 state budget that must pass by the
end of the year,” Likud legal adviser Avi Halevy said on Netanyahu’s
behalf.
“Advancing the election would have significant ramifications on
the party’s agenda.”
Netanyahu has been negotiating behind the scenes
with Shas and Yisrael Beytenu to ensure that the budget will pass and to avoid
an early election.
The prime minister’s statement came in response to
Minister-without-Portfolio Michael Eitan’s petition to the court to require
Netanyahu to convene a Likud convention. Eitan, who intends to run against
Netanyahu for the chairmanship of the convention, complained to the court that
the prime minister was breaking the party’s rules by not convening the
event.
“Netanyahu does not need to fear a convention,” Eitan said. “He
should embrace Likud activists and unite them ahead of the upcoming election.”