Yair Lapid election speech: "I said... and I did... and I brought"

Yair Lapid finance minister spoke today (Wednesday) at a Kalkalist Conference at David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv.

"A few months ago - it seems like forever, but it was only a few months ago - I was in the middle of the election campaign for the first in my life. Every night I was wearing a black shirt (not the same black shirt, I have a few), got into my car and drove to election conventions. I would tell them night after night after night, sometimes two or three times in the evening, we came to change. This country needs change and we will bring change.

"And night after night, after I spoke, during the questions, good people, caring, got up and said, 'Listen young man (when I was still young) you do not know what you are talking about. It won't change. They, those who sit in the government, they are too strong, they are too cynical, they'll never let you make a real change. They'll never let you change he burden equality, repeal the Nahari, turn the Lib"a studies into law, to cut child allowances. Orthodox are too strong. There won't be a government without the religious parties. Look what happened to your father, see how they killed Kadima. They will not let you."

"And the equality burden has passed for government decision at first reading in the Knesset. Next year all Orthodox aged 17 will receive a draft notice, within three years 70% of the young Haredim will serve, we cut hundreds of millions from the budgets of yeshivas and transferred them to the education system, tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox will now go out to the labor market and Nahari Law is canceled, and schools who do not teach core curriculum studies will not receive funding this year and child allowances were cut last week."

Lapid continued, "And they told me every night, 'You do not understand. They will never allow you to change the system of government, and to raise the threshold, and reduce government; reduce all motions of no confidence. Correct that a government so big that is corruption, but they live it."

"There were 35 government ministers and deputy ministers. Now we have 21 ministers. According to the law passed at first reading in the next government we will have only 19 ministers. Threshold cost, the Mofaz law was canceled, mistrust proposals will diminish and governments will not fall here every two years.

Lapid continued to count the achievements and promises, while he also touches on political points, "and they told me to forget about the peace process. Three years they did not do anything, that I should not think for a minute that this will change. There is a peace process. 19 fingertips of a Yesh Atid will make sure that it continues. 19 fingertips of Yesh Atid will see to it that it will continue.

"That's what we did in five months. Those promises we have in the first five months in the government and I'm the Minister of Finance, it's only the beginning. There is much more to do. Everything they messed up here in the last twenty years cannot be fixed in several months. I still want to decrease the raised taxes, and we will work like dogs to lower housing prices, and we shall not rest and will not rest until the insane cost of living in Israel will drop and allow normal middle class existence.

"But no one - no one can tell me anymore that a group of people who believe in something, which has the ability and determination of making and caring and values cannot make a real change."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!