Monday, December 15, 2008

The Economist: Netanyahu is the right choice for PM in trems of Economics

(Globes).Correspondent Gideon Lichfield today presented a survey by the British weekly "The Economist" at the "Globes" Israel Business Conference, which predicts zero pe capita GDP growth for Israel in 2009. The weekly's pessimistic scenario predicts an economic contraction.
Lichfield said that Israel's rapid growth of the past five years was closely tied to the country's high population growth rate. However, when Israel's natural growth rate is discounted, economic growth was actually lower. He said, "The good news is that recovery will be rapid, and Israel will see 3% growth by 2012, compared with 1.7% in OECD countries."

On the basis of "The Economist" survey, Lichfield said that the economic crisis caught Israel at a very bad time politically - "two months before elections and with a weak prime minister." He nevertheless sees the elections as an opportunity, and cites Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu as the right and most interesting choice in terms of economics. He said that put him in a bind, since "Everyone knows that foreign correspondents think that even Meretz is a right-wing party, and I am also not a Likud supporter. Netanyahu is the most interesting because he promises to continue the reforms he led when he was finance minister."