Netanyahu: Nir Barkat will be next finance minister
Likud polls have shown that appointing Barkat as finance minister would help the party attract soft-right voters from Blue and White.
By GIL HOFFMANLikud MK Nir Barkat addresses a Kohelet Policy Forum event, February 12, 2020.(photo credit: MICHAL FATTAL/KOHELET POLICY FORUM)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday at a rally in Or Yehuda that Likud MK Nir Barkat will be the next finance minister after the March 2 election.Netanyahu thanked outgoing finance minister Moshe Kahlon for his accomplishments in the post.He said Barkat would lead six new reforms in housing, prices of food, helping small businesses, technology, health services, Galilee, Negev, Judea and Samaria.Barkat left a trip to the US early for the announcement.According to Channel 12, which broke the news on Monday, Likud polls have shown that appointing Barkat as finance minister would help the party attract soft-right voters from Blue and White. But leading Likud figures oppose the move, saying it would not bring the desired dividend.Barkat joined Kadima when he was mayor of Jerusalem. A successful hi-tech millionaire, he frequently sparred with Kahlon over funding when he ran the city.
