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  Netanyahu offers finance ministry to rival days before election
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ContributorIndyGeorgia 
Last EditedIndyGeorgia  Mar 15, 2015 03:22pm
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AuthorReuters
MediaNews Service - Reuters
News DateSunday, March 15, 2015 09:20:00 PM UTC0:0
Description(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trailing in opinion polls two days before a parliamentary election, publicly offered on Sunday the Finance Ministry portfolio to a potentially king-making rival.

Facing possible upset defeat in the March 17 vote, Netanyahu has launched a media blitz to counter what appears to be a rising tide of support for his main opponent, the center-left Zionist Union.

Moshe Kahlon, a former member of Netanyahu's Likud party whose newly formed centrist party could be a deciding factor in who becomes prime minister, dismissed the offer as pre-election spin.

No party has ever won a majority in Israel's 120-seat Knesset, and the party leader with the best chance of forming a majority coalition is tasked with leading the new government.

The latest opinion polls predict the Zionist Union taking between 24 and 26 seats in the election, compared with 20-22 seats for Likud.

But even if Likud is outnumbered, Netanyahu is counting on a larger right-wing block to support his bid for another term, and Kahlon, with around 10 seats in the polls, could tilt things in his favor.
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