The government on Monday approved the state budget for 2021-2022, introducing a series of reforms seeing to drive the economy and ease the high cost of living.
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The favorable vote, which followed a marathon of overnight negotiations, represents the first time in three years that the coalition has been able to pass a budget.
The 2021-2022 budget appropriates $187 billion for 2021 and $173 billion for 2022. It still has to be approved by the Knesset – where it faces significant hurdles – by November.
Going into the vote, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the new state budget "will be a milestone for government stability."
He stressed that the plans outlined in the budget will allow ministers "to carry out their roles without needing to curry favor with interest groups," which have long been criticized for losing sight of public interests in their race to maximize profits.
"This time, the budget doesn't serve the interests of any specific sector rather those of Israel as a whole," Bennett said. "This government is free to act on behalf of the public's general interest. We are reducing bureaucracy and increasing competition, for everyone, but mainly for the weaker sectors. Those who will gain the most from competition and lower prices are the weaker sectors."
In a statement after the budget passed the government's vote, the prime minister said, "After three years of stagnation, Israel is back to work. After years of neglect, we have presented the most daring, most competitive budget, one that is helpful to the weaker sectors [of society], and the one most concerned about the future of our children.
"We said from the beginning that this government will be preoccupied with the public, not its own interests, and we kept our word," he asserted.
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said that the reforms introduced as part of the state budget spell tangible changes to the lives of many.
"The reforms we have approved focus primarily on reducing the cost of living. We have invested huge budgets in infrastructure, transportation, and real estate, and we have applied significant reforms that will cut bureaucracy, making it easier for everyone in their daily business or private life."
Prime Minister-designate Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted, "We are finally getting the country back on track. There will be a budget for healthcare, security, education, welfare, transportation – a budget that invests in the public. Thank you to my coalition partners for showing determination and responsibility in working together toward a shared goal and the future of the Israeli public."
Still, the budget still faces a parliament vote in which it will need the support of all the members of the fragile coalition, as the opposition of a single lawmaker could bring it down.
Under Israeli law, failing to pass a state budget will spell the automatic dissolution of the government, which may plunge Israel into another election campaign.
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