The cabinet is meeting today to discuss the Trajtenberg committee recommendations, and, in a last-minute U-turn, it decided to vote on them, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changed his mind. The meeting will last until 4:30 pm, but it is not clear if Netanyahu has a majority to pass the recommendations.
Shas and Israel Beiteinu ministers who oppose the recommendations, plan to vote against them or abstain. The cabinet might not vote on some of the recommendations, but pass them onto the social-economic cabinet for discussion instead. Netanyahu today called Israel Beiteinu chairman Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman to ask him not to vote against the recommendations, but at most to abstain.
The four ministers of the Ha'atzma'ut Party, headed by Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, also intend to vote against the recommendations.
In his opening remarks, Netanyahu expressed his confidence in the Trajtenberg committee recommendations, saying, "I believe that we have here a change in direction. Israel's citizens should know that today we are changing the national priorities. We are making many social changes that will benefit Israel's citizens, but we are doing so responsibly. The main task before us is to lower the cost of living in Israel, which is the root of the distress afflicting the country's citizens, and what we have come to change and correct.
"We are changing the national priorities in a wide range of fields, from help in childcare, through a long series of reductions in quotas, tax revisions, dealing with tax distortions, to increasing competitiveness in goods and services for the good of the economy, raising the negative income tax, easements in housing, and many other things that I have not mentioned. We will discuss them at this and subsequent meetings, until detailed proposals for decisions are submitted to the government."
Netanyahu said that the changes would be made while keeping the budget framework. "All this will be done responsibly, without increasing the nation's overdraft. If we are irresponsible, we could definitely bring Israel to the situation in many countries, which are on the verge of economic bankruptcy, the collapse of their welfare systems, and of course, high unemployment. We will act otherwise and adopt the principles of the report and then go forward with detailed recommendations, with the intent of making social corrections while keeping economic responsibility."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 3, 2011
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