| |
Our next finance minister
Several candidates can replace Hirchson, but which one is best option?
Even the most loyal associates and colleagues of Abraham Hirchson's - the self-suspended finance minister under investigation, do not believe that he can return to his recently abandoned post. It is likely that an indictment will be recommended, after which years of legal foot dragging will follow, beginning with the prosecution's public indecisiveness until the final ruling, if and when it happens.
The route from police suspicions to a sentence will in all likelihood take years and will completely destroy the defendant's life regardless of the severity of his offense or whether he is actually found to be guilty or not.
However, Hirchson will not be able to return to the Treasury for reasons beyond the legal time dimension; his image as a statesman has already been tarnished and he has become a laughing stock in the eyes of the majority of the public. The jovial and grey man, who from the onset was never suited to the demanding and aggressive post of finance minister and who was appointed due to his close personal ties with Olmert rather than his skills, is now depicted as the symbol of a dishonest, wheeler dealer politician. A man with such an image can no longer take up the post of finance minister.
So if Hirchson can't, who can? The names of several CEOs from the business sector, senior Treasury officials from the near and distant past and economics professors have been tossed into the air and mentioned in the media. Each could be an excellent finance minister. Such persons include Eli Horowitz, Shlomo Nehama, Arie Mientkavich and Aharon Fogel who would undoubtedly upgrade the finance portfolio and provide it with a new quality dimension.
However, such a move is not practical at this critical point in time in Israeli politics. Ehud Olmert's cabinet is suffering from a severe lack of public support; the majority of the people are standing with a stopwatch in their hands impatiently waiting for the end of his term in office. Moreover, there are no heavyweight non-political personalities willing to join such a cabinet, let alone be personally appointed by the prime minister.
By lack of choice two Kadima candidates for the post go right to the top of the list - Haim Ramon and Meir Sheetrit. As to Ramon, those specifically disqualifying him for the post are the exact same people (in the public and the media) who advocated the appointment of Hirchson to the post of finance minister; therefore their advice is invalid from the start.
If Ramon can become a minister, he can become any minister, particularly the finance minister. Yet in face of the severe verdict in his case, Ramon's return to a leadership position in the government can only occur in the next round of elections, if and when he contends in one of the lists and regains the electorate's confidence.
Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit is the business sector's preferred candidate: His clear "rightist" economic views make him a super-Netanyahu. Sheetrit is quick to the gun, loves dramatic changes and often clashes with officials - a positive trait. He is also proficient in economics, understands the needs of the economy and has vast ministerial experience.
If the finance portfolio remains in the Kadima party's hands, Meir Sheetrit is the right man for the job.
But why should the finance portfolio remain in the hands of Kadima? Olmert should have given it to the Labor party from the day he set up his cabinet; now he is being presented the opportunity to do so. And if the Treasury is offered to the Labor party, the right man for the post of Israel's next finance minister would be Avishay Braverman. Braverman is a professor of economics, a courageous and honest politician, a social leader and an excellent director. Professor Braverman possesses the ultimate combination of skills; there is no better candidate for the post.
|
RSS
