Kahlon positions himself as 'doer' ahead of elections
Former Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon refrained from officially announcing his candidacy for expected elections, but made clear signals he would.
By NIV ELISMoshe Kahlon(photo credit: REUTERS)
Former Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon refrained from officially announcing his candidacy for expected elections at a Tuesday speech, but positioned himself as a "doer" offering up accomplishments instead of promises."I talked about what I did, the others talked about what they will do. That's the difference," Kahlon told a meeting of the Manufacturer's Association of Israel in Tel Aviv, referring to his landmark telecoms reform that sent mobile phone subscription prices plummeting.Playing off a jibe opposition leader MK Yitzhak Hertzog (Labor) made at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that politicians who want to avoid criticism and controversy have a clear recipe to follow: "Don't do anything.""Leadership is responsibility, it's not prestige," he added.Though Kahlon makes no secret of his plan to return to politics, he has yet to make an official announcement, register a party, or build a Knesset list. Instead, he has plunged into nitty-gritty reform matters.In his speech, Kahlon decried the uneven distribution of credit, food prices, housing costs and the generally high cost of living, which he said made life hard for 90% of Israel's population.The older generation, he said, always worked through tough times with the comfort that things would be better for their kids. "I can't tell you how many parents there are that are secure about their kids future," he said.Tackling the high cost of housing, he said that there was a major problem with the state owning 94% of the land, and joked that even in highly-centralized China the state owned less. It was the role of the state to let free markets work, and only intervene to enhance--not reduce--competition.
