Netanyahu, Peres discuss early elections

        Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Wednesday with President Shimon Peres to brief him on the decision to call for early elections. Netanyahu said he will keep Peres briefed on the various developments ahead of the elections: "Even during the short election campaign that awaits us, my main consideration will be bolstering the Israeli public's security and reinforcing Israel's economy." Peres expressed hope that the coming political race will be "A lesson in democracy. I hope the campaign will remain civilized and slander free and that the parties and candidates respect each other." The coming election season, the president added, "Will be a short one, but the issues on the agenda are serious and have to do with social, economic and security issues." "We are not short of enemies, but we're not short of opportunities, either. The next four years will see Israel having to make major decisions. "This is not the first time Israel has had to deal with such serious issues, but I believe that we will face them well, as we did in the past," the president said. Netanyahu announced Tuesday night that since the government has not been able to successfully negotiate the State budget for 2013, he has decided to call for early elections. The prime minister said Wednesday that ideally, the elections would be held on January 15, 2013; but no official date has been declared. The Knesset is expected to convene next week, but what was supposed to be its first winter session, will now become its last, since the Knesset member will have to vote on the dissolution of the House.