Kulanu party chairman Moshe Kahlon commented Friday on the corruption case launched against Yisrael Beytenu ministers, promising to fight corruption as a phenomenon and rid Israel of monopolies.
Kahlon, who previously was a senior Likud minister, also said that he was following in the steps of Likud leader and former Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
“Corruption impairs public confidence in the political system,” he said, speaking at an Economics conference in Tel Aviv. “I have trust in the police and the rule of law to do their job.”
“As a citizen, I feel sad when I see corruption cases,” he continued. “I believe in the authorities and the arms of the law to work on it. I hope for those involved and for the public that the issue will not amount to nothing.”
Kahlon has stated multiple times that he intends to wage a war on Israel’s monopolies, and expanded on this Friday.
“Monopolies are bad for the economy, for consumers, for the state,” he said. “I am in favor of ridding all monopolies, whether they be public or private.”
Kahlon also came out in support of the Israel Antitrust Authority, which chose to jettison the Noble Gas-Delek monopoly on the Leviathan gas field earlier this week. He emphasized that ” a normalized economy needs one thing: competition.”
What about the workers’ unions? Kahlon said that “from my personal experience, it is better to fight the tycoons than workers’ unions. It is difficult to separate a tycoon from his billions in capital; the story is much more complex and difficult when you’re fighting a tycoon than with the workers committees, it is possible to reach agreements with [workers’ committees].”
“Every committee, monopoly, or centralized economy requires respect for human dignity, social sensitivity and preventing layoffs; every person is an entire world,” he added. “Kulanu was established in order to protect the individual and his dignity and we act out of sensitivity to the labor market.”
Kahlon added that he was drawn to Likud because of Menachem Begin and that he wishes to implement the same principles in his own party.
“The principle that guides me and my friends to the party is very simple: it’s protecting the security of Israel,” he stated. “Every move that will strengthen the security of the state and will maintain Jewish identity and a strong, Jewish democratic state – we are there.”
Regarding Kulanu’s political stance, Kahlon has been aligning with former members of the Kadima party that pushed for unilateral land concessions.
He also said recently “we will not waste an opportunity for peace and will not hesitate to vacate territory,” leaving open the option to expel Jews and concede land.
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