Rivlin phones coalition chiefs in effort to prevent fresh elections

President Reuven Rivlin has spoken in recent days with coalition party leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, with the goal of preventing additional elections, the President’s Residence says.

Rivlin met Netanyahu and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party leader Yaakov Litzman, and spoke on the phone with Gantz, Shas leader Aryeh Deri, and UTJ No. 2 Moshe Gafni, according to the statement.

He told the politicians that “it is unthinkable that the issue of approving the state budget will lead us to a fourth election.”

“Even though respecting agreements is important, if approving the budget is indeed the only obstacle on the way to preventing elections, all coalition heads must compromise in a way that enables its passage,” Rivlin is quoted saying.

“The public’s trust in its elected officials will hit an extreme low in the case of another election,” the president adds. “After three election cycles in less than a year, we, the citizens, feel deceived and fearful.

“If we are doomed to go to another election, we must make sure that we go to them with full transparency, with the public understanding the exact reason. We must not allow the budget to be the reason,” Rivlin says, apparently alluding to widespread suspicions that Netanyahu is interested in elections to avoid having to hand over the premiership to Gantz in November 2021.