Israeli Opposition 'Quite Desperately' Fought Netanyahu - Likud Member

Polling stations have opened in Israel as the country votes in a very tight race – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to secure a fifth term. Ahead of the vote, Sputnik talked about the election with Sharren Haskel, a Member of the Knesset and candidate from Likud party.

Sputnik: So what is the Likud's party current agenda?

Sharren Haskel: Well we represent the right-wing side of Israel, so it comes in three different terms: so the security matters, diplomacy and the other one is about the economy. On security, borders, foreign affairs, I think we've also in the past 10 years improved. Obviously, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who's heading the Likud party, our party, how Israel has been developing to new record highs with meetings with world leaders, building bridges not just security cooperation but mainly on economical cooperation.

So the difference between our approach and the left's approach, which are trying to replace us, is a more appeasing and a more leaning kind of approach towards neighboring countries, towards the conflict inside Israel as well, so our approach is much more security-oriented and defense-oriented. The most important thing is to make sure that our civilians are being kept safe. We live in quite a tough neighborhood, where quite a few countries surrounding us, let's call it, they're not our best friends or our greatest allies, and in that matter we have to make sure that we maintain a strong defense and a very much capable army as well.

So that's on security and foreign affairs, but there's also the economical issue, when the parties are trying to replace us, have actually brought one of the heads of the unions to come and replace the Minister of Treasury, which is a very, very dangerous situation for the Israeli economy. When we speak about a more right approach towards our economy it's how we will reduce more taxes for Israelis.

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Israel has some of the highest rates of taxes. We have an enormous amount of bureaucracy that's putting up barriers to good business here in Israel into continuing to develop our economy, to stabilise it. So our approach has always been, in the past few years as well, how to reduce it in order to create more growth of the potential that you have here in Israel, so to grow more businesses, startups and organizations, so in economical terms, this is our approach as well.

Sputnik: So what are your personal expectations for Tuesday's election, it's been a very tough race and it's been a very close race. Is there is the scandal surrounding Netanyahu and the possibility of some kind of an indictment for corruption?

Sharren Haskel: Yes, obviously there's always political maneuvers that the opposition is trying to put into the race. I think they're quite desperate from fighting Netanyahu, they've seen through the entire campaign that they can't bring any kind of achievement against that the achievements that we've brought in the past 10 years, so they tried to pull the campaign to be more personal, and in that, also trying to smear some of the other candidates as well. It's very unfortunate, I would definitely prefer a more ideological campaign because on this level, we can argue and we can disagree, but we can really argue on a deeper level.

Unfortunately, they dragged our campaign towards a more personal one. My expectations and my hopes, to be honest, are that we win this election and we continue for another four years to run Israel. If we don't, unfortunately, I would be quite worried about taking Israel a few steps backwards with the new leadership that's trying to replace us.

Sputnik: How would you rate Benjamin Netanyahu's chances for re-election, which obviously is also going to be dependent on his ability to create a coalition with a majority?

Sharren Haskel: So it's very interesting what we're seeing in polls at the moment, I mean if all Israelis would go to the polls we would definitely win these elections. There's a huge percentage that trusts him, that believe in him, that are really happy with the way that we manage the Israeli economy, Israeli security, and so there's a huge poll that's actually supporting us, but what we do see in deep polls is that the Israeli public think it's already in their pocket, and so many of them are not motivated to go to the polls and vote for Likud because it's a day off and sort of a day of vacation.

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So when people are asked what they're going to do on election day, they prefer to spend it on the beach, or go out with friends, or not travel to their home towns in order to actually go and vote there, which is really quite worrying us. So our mission in the next couple of days is really to shake up and wake up the public, our supporters and find the right ways to lead them.

Sputnik: What would you say are the strongest points of Netanyahu's election campaign?

Sharren Haskel: Definitely the economic records that we were able to bring, like really low unemployment, we dropped below the 3.5% level at a certain point, which is an unbelievable achievement. We grew the GDP per capita, personal income for every Israeli as well, salaries, huge investment from overseas as well. So on the economic level developing infrastructure in Israel, but on the other hand, definitely in the arena of our diplomacy as well. Prime Minister Netanyahu is being accepted in many, many places.

The views and opinions expressed by the speaker do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.