Steinitz says Israel is not Spain, must keep budget in line

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz warned his colleagues Sunday of the dangers of adding too many items to the state budget, saying that Israel should not expect a Spain-style bailout.

Steinitz is currently battling ministers and other politicians to maintain fiscal discipline, even as ministries have looked to expand in the 2013 budget.

Speaking at the morning cabinet meeting, Steinitz said some members of the coalition and opposition did not understand the importance of keeping state spending in line. He added that nobody would give Israel 100 billion euros, as Spain received, if it got into financial trouble, Israel Radio reported.

Steintz reportedly added that Israel is still fighting to defend its economy in light of the global economic crisis and stressed the importance of achieving a reasonable deficit.

Widespread cost-of-living protests last summer led the government to adopt a number of social welfare programs, with much of the increased spending slated to be made up by cuts to ministry budgets.

On Saturday, Spain became the fourth eurozone country to request a financial bailout.