Israel Finance Minister Kahlon mulling resignation: Globes
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon is considering stepping down from political life in the coming days, the Globes financial newspaper said on its website.
Globes reported that Kahlon has told a number of different people of his intent to resign, although it said it was still unclear whether he would step down from the post of finance minister or just remove his name from running in the next parliamentary election.
A spokesman for Kahlon said there was "nothing new" in the report and declined to confirm or deny the resignation.
Kahlon has been finance minister since the country's 2015 election, when his upstart Kulanu party garnered 10 seats in parliament after promising to tackle soaring housing and other costs.
Kulanu dropped to four seats in an election in April, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a ruling government. The party ran together with Netanyahu's Likud party but the combined entity fared worse in a subsequent election, losing a combined seven seats from April.
Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz, the head of the Blue and White Party which received one more mandate than Netanyahu, have both been unable to so far form a government. If one is not formed soon, a third election is possible in early 2020.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Christina Fincher)
