Likud, Blue and White continue to trade blame for coalition crisis

The Likud and Blue and White parties continue to trade blame for the ongoing coalition crisis that could lead to new elections if a state budget isn’t passed August 25.

“Netanyahu wants elections for personal considerations. All the rest is noise,” Blue and White writes on Twitter, apparently referring to the prime minister’s indictment on graft charges.

Blue and White adds: “Likud forgot there are a million unemployed people. It would be better if Netanyahu removed the ministers from the [TV] studios and return them to dealing with the coronavirus.”

Likud meanwhile releases a statement against Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, the No. 2 in Blue and White, amid reports he opposes compromising on some of Netanyahu’s demands to keep the government intact.

“Gabi Ashkenazi has begun a campaign for the leadership of Blue and White and is pushing for elections with all [his] might. Apparently even more than toppling Netanyahu, he wants to topple Gantz,” Likud says.

According to a Channel 12 news report, Blue and White has begun discussing a compromise that would see the August 25 deadline pushed off and the approval of additional funds for the government to spend before a new budget is passed.

If no compromise is reached and elections are called, it would be the fourth national poll since April 2019.