MK Gideon Sa'ar was in Ramat Gan on Saturday night with over 150 Likudniks in attendance ahead of the pre-election Likud primaries on Thursday. "Change is a good thing," Sa'ar said. "It's a welcome thing. Every system - private or public - needs to change. And it's time for a change." "We followed the Prime Minister for more than 20 years," Sa'ar continued. "But the Prime Minister is blocked and it's unreasonable that the Likud will remain blocked and the state will be stuck. If we don't make a change this Thursday, there is a high likelihood of a change in the March 2 election - the rise of a left-wing government to power that will endanger everything dear to us." "The polls show that if the Likud is headed by me, the bloc already stands at 60-61 seats. Those numbers will jump after I'm elected on Thursday. I know how to bring new voters. It's possible to win 40 seats!" "My candidacy stemmed from the understanding that the state must be rescued from the political imbroglio and address issues that are important to citizens rather than just engaging in never-ending elections. When I was the Education Minister, all the indices jumped. We recently saw the decline reflected in the PISA [OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment] indices. I formulated a detailed program focused on improving teaching quality." "On the subject of bureaucracy - a national headquarters must be established to fight bureaucracy and reduce regulation. Citizens shouldn't be given the runaround. Justice system reforms must be implemented. The government's role is not to organize demonstrations, but to make the necessary changes to fix the systems." "Standards must be applied to doctors and nurses in hospitals and gaps in health services between the center of the country and the periphery must be reduced. I have organized plans in all areas. It's absurd that there hasn't been a Likud platform for many years." "We must unite the Jewish people, repair the rifts between the different parts of society - and I'll do this. Our enemies don't differentiate between us - as far as they're concerned - eliminate all of us. Unity is an asset in dealing with the challenges of the future, with a focus on national security challenges."
