By Gil Hoffman, JPost—
The deadline for passing the 2020 state budget and avoiding early elections is Tuesday night at midnight and not Wednesday night at midnight as originally thought, the Knesset’s spokesman announced on Wednesday.
The Knesset legal adviser ruled that the December 23 deadline for passing the budget, which was set in a bill passed in August, must be interpreted to refer to the first moment of that day and not the final second of the day. The bill in August postponed the deadline for passing the budget by 120 days.
Advancing the deadline by a day will make it even harder for a compromise to be reached between Likud and Blue and White to prevent the election. Both parties reported no progress in talks between them.
Advancing the deadline by a day will make it even harder for a compromise to be reached between Likud and Blue and White to prevent the election. Both parties reported no progress in talks between them.
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz refused the Likud’s demand in the talks to fire Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn. He said his party was committed to protecting the legal establishment, so the demand was out of the question.
“We should avoid elections and let this government function – with budgets, planning, and appointments to key positions,” Gantz said at Wednesday’s Israel Democracy Institute’s Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society. “I hope the prime minister steps up, but I’m prepared for elections too.”
The budget would have to be passed three more times in the plenum and two more times in the Knesset House Committee to prevent an election from being set automatically for Tuesday March 23.
The budget would have to be passed three more times in the plenum and two more times in the Knesset House Committee to prevent an election from being set automatically for Tuesday March 23.
