Report: Compromise Reached; One-Year Budget for 2020, 2021’s Budget in December

The apparent solution to the unity government’s high-profile dispute reached Tuesday is expected to please both sides and calm the coalition jitters, according to a report on Channel 12 News.

The report said that at the end of the meeting Tuesday between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, the apparent outline for a compromise seems to be the passing of a one-year budget for 2020, with the budget for 2021 to be approved in December.

The assumption is that passing a one-year budget will meet the Likud’s demands, and on the other hand will reduce the concern among Blue and White MKs that Netanyahu intends to lead the political system into a new round of elections. The assumption in the political system is that in the winter, in parallel with the outbreak of the coronavirus, it will not be possible to hold elections.

Before the meeting between the two leaders on Tuesday, officials in Blue and White said they were leaning toward settling for a one-year budget, as Netanyahu requested, but under certain conditions. The concern of Blue and White is that if the budget goes the way the Likud asked, Netanyahu could topple the government and call for snap elections, without transferring power to Gantz.

It was noted that former Blue and White leader, and now Opposition leader, MK Yair Lapid, expressed support for a one-year budget, as Netanyahu demanded.