(Globes).Aides of Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu say that he plans to establish a new "economic defense" ministry, which he will head, in addition to his job as prime minister, assuming he wins next week's elections. It is not clear whether this new ministry will replace the Ministry of Finance, or function in parallel to it.
The plan calls for a minister of finance to function under Netanyahu in a fashion similar to the current Minister at the Ministry of Finance Meshulam Nahari. If the plan is executed, Netanyahu will presumably appoint a close aide who he can closely oversee, at the new ministry, rather than a well-known professional economist.
When asked last week to name a minister of finance-designate, Netanyahu declined to say whether he would appoint a politician or a professional to the portfolio. "One does not contradict the other. We've already had ministers were both politicians and professionals," he said.
Nevertheless, sources in the Likud are not certain that the idea of an "economic defense" ministry will actually come to fruition. Considering the economic situation, which is expected to worsen, it hard to see how the Ministry of Finance can function without a full-time minister. The diplomatic-security situation will also make it difficult for Netanyahu to hold a portfolio in addition to the prime minister.
The Likud has not yet examined whether it is legally possible to abolish the Ministry of Finance in favor of a new ministry.
In the last elections campaign in 2003, Netanyahu did not conceal his wish to hold onto two hats: to be both prime minister and minister of finance. At the press conference where he presented the Likud's economic platform, he said, "I will direct economic policy. It is not acceptable that the prime minister is not involved in directing economic policy in times of crisis.
