Finance C'tee demands crisis plan

Committee chairman Avishai Braverman reiterated his demand for fiscal expansion.

Increasingly worried about a severe recession, the Knesset Finance Committee today demanded that Minister of Finance Ronnie Bar-On and Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer formulate a comprehensive plan to deal with the widening global financial crisis. Finance Committee chairman MK Avishai Braverman (Labor) reiterated his demand to raise the increase in government spending target. "What was is no longer relevant. We must consider different things and a different budget," he said.

There is no consensus within the Finance Committee, however. MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud) disagrees with Braverman, and rejects calls to amend the budget framework, calling them "destructive". He said that the Finance Committee should not rubber stamp measures or policies unilaterally decided by the Ministry of Finance, and called for thorough discussions on any measure proposed.

MK Silvan Shalom (Likud), a former finance minister, said that it was important not to become wise after the event. "Intervention is needed, but it must be the right intervention with the right dosage," he said.

Joint Ministry of Finance and Bank of Israel teams met today. Both authorities said that they would not intervene in the market at this time, and said that the meetings were routine. However, senior officials in Jerusalem told "Globes" that the teams were reviewing possible scenarios and formulating contingency plans.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 6, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

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