Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev said Saturday that unlike other coalition parties, Likud is not wary of the possibility of early elections.
Commenting on the growing speculation that the 34th government will soon dissolve, Regev, speaking to supporters at a Purim holiday party, said, "I know that the prime minister doesn't want elections, but if you force them on us, I'm telling you – there's only one party that has no reason to be wary of elections."
A poll held Thursday showed that if elections were held at this time, Likud would win 36 Knesset seats, giving it a large margin of victory.
Yesh Atid, headed by Yair Lapid, would win 23 seats, nearly double its current 12 seats. Habayit Hayehudi, which currently has eight seats, would win 11, and the Zionist Union, United Torah Judaism and Joint Arab List would win 10 seats each.
Regev drew harsh criticism over remarks she made against Israel's law enforcement authorities, recently rattled by alleged collusion between a judge and an Israeli Securities' Authority investigator who had been assigned to one of the corruption cases implication Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"You thought that democracy is the rule of the people? That the people choose who will lead them and what values will lead them? To the contrary – they [law enforcement] seek to teach us and if you dare represent your constituents, you are not a democrat! And if your voters support the Likud than its doubly prohibited!
"We were chosen by the people, but there are advisers and officials who are used to calling the shots about what is right and wrong – they call them 'the gatekeepers.' … They may seem like they're looking out for the rule of law and proper administration, but deep in their pockets, they carry a guillotine.
"Suddenly, the end of toppling the ruler justifies the means. So you see, nothing has changed since [the days of King Ahasuerus]. Overnight, some of the people you think of as gatekeepers turn out to be seeking to destroy the kingdom," she said.
"We have an excellent prime minister in Netanyahu," Regev continued. "Prime Minister Netanyahu – continue to work for the public and the country. We are not the only ones who appreciate you. Just look at the string of leaders from all over the world who want to come here to meet you.
"We see the change in the American administration, after years of you looking out for our national interests, despite the pressure you face," she said.
Regev's statement about the "malicious" gatekeepers, construed as a comparison between the plot to topple King Ahasuerus and what the Likud has decried as the Left's attempts to topple Netanyahu, sparked an immediate backlash.
"A minister in Israel just compared the gatekeepers, the dedicated individuals who spare no effort to protect the rule of law, to two viziers who were hanged for their actions," Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni said.
"This is the minister the prime minister names as his replacement when he's away. Even when abroad, Netanyahu isn't a statesman, but rather a petty politician," she said, referring to the fact that Netanyahu named Regev as acting prime minister during his five-day visit to the United States this week.
Kulanu MK Rachel Azaria tweeted, "Miri Regev, what right do you have to ram the gatekeepers? Police, judges and prosecutors – these people work for all of us and keep us from chaos. You go after them because it's easy, as by law, they are barred from responding."
On Sunday Regev issued a statement slamming what she called "some in the media's rush to misinterpret my words.
"I did use motifs from the Book of Esther in my speech. Given the judge's texting scandal, I was making the point that the fundamental principle in democracy is that the people are sovereign and therefore it is imperative that the gatekeepers follow the rules of proper administration.
"I called on no one to be harmed," she stressed. "On the contrary – anyone who wants civil servants to enjoy the public's confidence and do their jobs faithfully must ensure their work is done fairly and impartially," she said.
