Apart from a little bit more mud-slinging (almost literally), Israel’s Kenesset has passed the budget for 2021. What should be a normal a normal parliamentary procedure has turned in to a ground-breaking event, not seen for 44 months!

The government has touted this as a budget of reform and change. Um, sorry, but no.

The total of NIS 609 billion ($194 billion) does not allow for significant reforms such as how fresh produce reaches the shops or tax relief for the bulging self-employed community. In fact, due to two years of political instability during Netanyahu’s hold on power, it remains just the budget for 2021 – whichnow has less than 60 days to run.

So, what is so impressive about Israel’s new budget?

First, the budget was passed. The assumption is that the 2022 numbers will also be approved by the end of the week. That is major positive news for Israel on the financial markets, allowing the country and corporations to raise money more readily and at a lower cost. This was the core message of the Bank of Israel earlier in the week,

Second, the budget was passed despite the government operating with a majority of just one vote and acting as a coalition of no less than 8 diverse parties. The opposition did its utmost to find the weakest links, but failed. That may point to some hidden internal strengths (for now) of the various partners.

And yes, there are some positive pieces of news at a macro level. The unions have agreed to a new wage freeze for a year in the public sector. Import restrictions on certain products like cosmetics will be lifted, resulting in (hopefully) lower prices in the shops. And the government is promising action over the paperwork citizens are still forced to complete in the age of digitalisation.

What next? In a country facing the threats from corona and Iran as one, mixed with the slow fallout of the labourious legal trials of Netanyahu, predicting the economic-political future is never so straight forward. Does it matter? “Israeli tech companies have raised $20.8 billion in the first ten months of 2021, more than double the record $10 billion raised in all of 2020.”