Bank of Israel
Bank of IsraelFlash 90

After two “strikes,” the Bank of Israel candidacy issue may finally be resolved. The newest candidate for the post, Professor Mario Blecher, former Governor of the Bank of Argentina, is “clean,” says his daughter, Eliana Teitelbaum. “We don't know of anything that would impede or prevent his appointment,” she told Army Radio in an interview Sunday.

Blecher is the third candidate slated to get the job that Stanley Fischer quit last June. His successor, chosen by the government, was former BOI chief Yaakov Frenkel, who decided not to proceed with the vetting process by the Turkel Committee after revelations about a shoplifting incident he was said to be involved in.

The second candidate, Professor Leo Leiderman, decided not to go through with the vetting process either. The reason was not revealed, but the media has speculated that the reason was his reliance on astrology for making decisions.

Blecher has no such “baggage,” his daughter told Army Radio. The fact that he is from Argentina will also not be a factor, she said. “It's not like he is coming to a foreign country. He is very much at home here,” Teitelbaum said, adding that he had been asked to take on the job as BOI chief on several previous occassions.

Blecher arrived in Israel Friday at the invitation of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid. He is to appear before the Turkel Committee, which is checking the backgrounds of the candidates, later this week.