Haste makes waste. Only two candidates for the position of governor of the Bank of Israel have fallen through, and already a magic formula is being proposed: Change the selection method. If both Professor Jacob Frenkel and Leo Leiderman were not the right fit as individuals, then clearly candidates should no longer be presented one by one to the nominations committee. From now on, the government shall present the candidates wholesale -- four or five at a time -- and then let the committee weed out the unsuitable ones until only one is left, who meets all the necessary criteria.
This is a foolhardy solution. True, it is customary when selecting an appointed official to put forward a number of names and then vet, investigate, and propose only two or three of them to the nominations committee, followed by ministerial approval. That is how the attorney-general is selected, for example. But in those instances, the rules are different.
Bank when Gabriel Bach headed the Advisory Committee on Senior Civil Service Appointments (until he was replaced by current chairman Yaakov Turkel), he actively encouraged suitable individual to submit their own candidacy. He did not accept a closed list from the government from which he would have to choose a candidate. It was a completely different process.
This time, however, the government panicked and to placate the public, which enjoys making fun of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid for their failure to appoint a suitable candidate, a magic solution was proposed -- to change the selection process.
It may cause more trouble than it's worth. Vetting five different candidates simultaneously will invite the public to make all kinds of slanderous allegations against each and every one of them. When the committee ultimately finds only two of them to be suitable as legitimate candidates, it will inevitably spark public curiosity as to why the other three were found to be unsuitable. Why embarrass people unnecessarily?
The selection process requires careful thought and good judgment. It cannot be affected by the two recent failures, though their effect is far reaching. It would be worthwhile to consider how the government would react if asked to choose between two candidates that it did not submit to the nomination committee itself. Will the government be forced to choose a candidate it did not propose itself-
All these tricks and tactics are a result of the government's insistence on ignoring the recommendation of the last Former Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, who stepped down in May. He strongly recommended his deputy, Dr. Karnit Flug as his successor, and as an incumbent Bank of Israel official, she would not even have to be approved by the Turkel Committee.
It is their prerogative not to appoint Flug, but the chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee -- or the State Control Committee or even the Economic Affairs Committee -- should ask Netanyahu and Lapid to explain what possible flaws they found in Flug's conduct to warrant not appointing her, even though she has been fulfilling the post as acting governor for several weeks now. In any case, if you want to change the world, fine. Just wait until the next governor. For the time being, this embarrassing episode needs to be wrapped up as quickly as possible, and in the agreed upon, familiar way. With efficiency, oversight, and no whining.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו