Israel Beiteinu: Decision on Trajtenberg must be delayed

Party is averse to discussing c'tee's recommendations in upcoming government meeting; gives "no time to prepare" Tourism Minister says.

By LAHAV HARKOV
311_Stas Meseznikov (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem / The Jerusalem Post)
311_Stas Meseznikov
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem / The Jerusalem Post)
Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday to postpone Monday’s government meeting on the Trajtenberg Committee report.
“In the name of Israel Beiteinu and its five ministers, I am notifying you of our firm opposition to a discussion of the Trajtenberg Committee’s recommendations at the coming government meeting,” Meseznikov wrote.
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The cabinet is scheduled to hold its first meeting on the report at its weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, but no vote is yet expected. This will be the first in-depth discussion by the government on the report, submitted last week by Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg. The Trajtenberg Committee was established by Netanyahu to recommend socioeconomic reforms following the summer’s massive cost-of-living protests.
Government officials said they expected that following Monday’s discussion, the recommendations will be kicked over to the 17-member economic cabinet for further discussion. It is not yet clear whether that body will vote on the report and begin its implementation, or whether it will be sent back to the full cabinet for its approval.
“It is unthinkable from a professional and practical standpoint to discuss and adopt recommendations from such an important report with no time to prepare,” the tourism minister explained.
Meseznikov wrote that the report was released right before Rosh Hashana, making it difficult for ministers to properly prepare for the government meeting.
“I am sure that you also think that it would take a bit longer than a day-and-a-half of studying the report in order to decide on the future socioeconomic policies of the State of Israel, which will influence the fate of so many families in Israel,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trajtenberg plans to attend a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee on Tuesday, during which his recommendations will be reviewed.