Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday that if the latter decides to hold the elections early, it should be done as soon as possible so as not to undermine the government's "economic and security achievements."
Lieberman said that while his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, is willing to vote in favor of a responsible state budget, the rest of the coalition factions' support is uncertain. Netanyahu previously announced that he would move up the elections if the Knesset fails to pass the budget for 2013.
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Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Thursday called for the dissolution of the Knesset immediately at the start of the parliament's winter session, saying that the disconcerting economic situation and the Knesset's difficulty to pass a state budgetmake early elections unavoidable.
In a meeting held with Netanyahu and Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin, Rivlin said he will not approve "populist law proposals and irresponsible legislation" aiming to delay the Knesset's dissolution.
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