PM reportedly planning to evaluate multiple nominees for BoI governor

Reports surfaced on Sunday night and Monday that Prime Minister Binyamin  Netanyahu was planning to nominate multiple candidates for the position of Bank  of Israel governor, to be vetted in advance by the Turkel Committee, in order to  give himself more leeway in picking a final nominee.

The Prime Minister’s  Office refused to comment, while a spokesman for Finance Minister Yair Lapid  would only say that the two were working in full cooperation. On Sunday, Lapid  rejected legislation supported by Knesset Economics Committee chairman Avishay  Braverman and Labor MK Itzik Shmuli to install a vetting committee for the  governors.

The furor over how to best evaluate candidates followed a  chaotic week in which two nominees, Jacob Frenkel and Leo Leiderman, both  withdrew their candidacy in the face of alleged scandals.

Both have  asserted their confidence that they could gain the approval of the Turkel  Committee, responsible for addressing complaints against the nominees and giving  a stamp of approval before they can step into the position. The public ignominy  associated with the process, however, proved too unpalatable for  both.

Meanwhile, the media continued to speculate on who might fill the  position, held temporarily by Karnit Flug since Stanley Fischer stepped down in  June.

Flug, who was Fischer’s deputy governor and has twice been snubbed  for the position, is considered an unlikely candidate at this point, while  National Economic Council chairman Eugene Kandel and former Committee for  Socioeconomic Change head Manuel Trajtenberg are said to be favorites. Bank of  Israel Monetary Committee member Rafi Melnick’s name has been floated in the  media, as has that of former justice minister Yaakov Neeman.

Globes  reported that Netanyahu would submit his next pick within the week, casting  doubt on the possibility of thoroughly vetting a new nominee, let alone several  candidates.

By and large, the entire process has been a debacle  politically. A Knesset Channel poll released Monday found that 53% of the public  graded Lapid’s performance in nominating a governor badly.

Considered  alongside passage of an unpopular budget, 78% of respondents said they  disapproved of his job as finance minister.