Finance Minister Smotrich Positions Himself as Leading Candidate for Post-Netanyahu Prime Minister

Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich declared in a candid interview on the podcast "Everything Open" with Avi Shushan that he sees himself as a legitimate and leading candidate to head the national camp and become prime minister after Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked directly if he envisions himself as prime minister one day, Smotrich replied, "Maybe. I have patience. I have no personal ambitions, I love the country and the people, and I have always lived a simple and modest life." He emphasized that his growing experience in senior roles, especially as finance minister during turbulent times, prepares him for leadership. "The finance minister is the third most important figure in the government, steering the economy in these stormy waters and being a senior partner in managing the war alongside the prime minister," he said, praising Netanyahu as "a true leader, several levels above everyone else."

Regarding the post-Netanyahu era, Smotrich confidently stated, "I definitely consider myself one of the realistic candidates in the national camp after Netanyahu." On whether Israeli voters are ready to elect a kippah-wearing prime minister, he said, "It is a process that needs to happen. Ultimately, a deeply faithful person creates a worldview that does not change daily and can be relied upon."

Smotrich also addressed criticism that his party is a niche faction serving only its own sector. He rejected this, asserting that Religious Zionism is not a niche party and highlighting his work as finance minister during the war, which supported all Israelis, including reservists, evacuees, and businesses affected by the conflict. He noted that over a million claims for direct and indirect damages were compensated nationwide. Defending budget allocations to religious education institutions such as Hesder yeshivas, Smotrich said the public sees the significant contribution of these institutions, whose members lead on the battlefield and, sadly, also fill military cemeteries.