Benjamin Netanyahu may take the finance minister's job himself when he becomes Israeli prime minister and forms the next government, a source close to the right-wing leader said today.
Mr Netanyahu, facing the difficult issues of national security and the flagging economy, is in the process of forming a governing coalition after last month's parliamentary election.
The source said Mr Netanyahu, whose free market policies won praise from investors during his 2003-2005 tenure as finance minister, is weighing up whether to hold the post himself again or hand the job to a businessman with no political ties.
Israel's economy, highly dependent on exports that account for nearly half its growth, has weakened sharply in the past six months. The Bank of Israel believes the economy has entered a recession and will contract as much as 1.5 per cent this year.
Israel was also in recession when Mr Netanyahu became finance minister six years ago. He enacted a series of structural and free market reforms that helped spark four years of growth of at least 5 per cent a year between 2004 and 2007.
This made him a favourite with local and foreign investors and led to tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment flows in the past few years.
Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party won 27 of parliament's 120 seats in last month's election, which established a strong right-wing bloc in the legislature. Under Israeli law Mr Netanyahu, who was prime minister from 1996 to 1999, has until April 3rd to form a government.
He has so far signed a preliminary coalition deal with the far-right Yisrael Beitenu Party and said he still hopes to persuade the centrist Kadima party to join too and form a broad government.
Reuters