Katz says he was going to fire budget chief who quit
Katz said he would soon appoint a replacement for Meridor.
By HAGAY HACOHEN, GIL HOFFMANBudget director Shaul Meridor attends a press conference with at the Finance Ministry office in Jerusalem, September 23, 2019. (photo credit: FLASH90)
Finance Minister Israel Katz downplayed the resignation of his ministry’s budget chief Shaul Meridor in interviews with three television networks on Monday.Katz said he met with Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit about firing Meridor for his alleged political meetings with politicians in the opposition and leaks just before Meridor resigned.Meridor denied Katz’s claim he drafted a resignation letter “hastily” and told confidants he had been working on the letter for “days.”Meridor said Katz demanded a budget that was sub-standard, with various items were given less funding than needed, so he could “play with the numbers” and present a false image that he could meet all demands. Katz denies Meridor’s allegations, calling them “lies.”Katz said that in a democracy, elected officials dictate policy that is later carried out by the civil service. He said Meridor also undermined Katz’s predecessor in the Finance Ministry, Moshe Kahlon, but Kahlon was not permitted to fire him during a caretaker government.After firing Meridor, Katz took steps to improve the morale in his ministry on Monday, meeting with Finance Ministry director-general Keren Terner and other top ministry officials. He expressed confidence that without Meridor, the atmosphere in the ministry would improve.Katz said he would soon appoint a replacement for Meridor.In his resignation letter, Meridor accused Katz of mismanagement.“I can no longer be a part of the system and offer legitimacy to a series of wrong decisions,” Meridor wrote, adding that the people of Israel will pay “heavily” for these alleged wrong decisions “for years to come.”
