the construction of residential neighborhoods requires roads and access to employment areas for future residents, and the functioning of businesses is affected by their access to transport infrastructure. alongside areas where it seems that the government ’ s decision to adopt a strategic plan at least to the formulation of a working plan derived from it, there are also examples of issues that were included in a plan and are not being implemented. for instance : establishing a financial stability committee. there is agreement over the text of the law, but it is still delayed in the knesset finance committee. gradual adjustment of the retirement age. in july 2017, the knesset finance committee again stopped the automatic increase of the retirement age for women, which was supposed to gradually rise from january 1, 2017 until 2022 to the age of 64 in a number of increases. dealing with the actuarial deficit of the national insurance institute. a process for solving the problem has not been formulated. a public committee ( domenicini - nissan ) submitted recommendations in 2012, which weren ’ t even discussed by the government and remained in a drawer. since the decision in 2015, the issue hasn ’ t been discussed by the government. what all these things have in common is that the way they are being dealt with is not bearing results in the short term, and some of them even carry a public cost in the short term. no politician gets credit for an actuarial or financial crisis that does not happen. alongside the government ’ s progress in creating the infrastructure for planning the strategy, there is room to strengthen this process and to assimilate it further in the government work process, similar to the budget process. this can be done in such a way that the strategic trends presented and approved by the government will constitute the vision with which fiveyear plans and annual work plans will be formulated. in particular, it is important that the annual government targets for the ministries be derived from the long - term targets of the government ’ s strategic plan. the existing mechanisms must be strengthened and supported by the establishment of a ministerial committee for strategy, and through the strategic management team. in summation : there is a natural built - in tension between promoting the agenda and priorities of the elected government and policy that is based on a long - term vision and the advancement of strategic plans. on one hand, planning, formulation and implementation of a strategic plan that acts to achieve targets over time are necessary conditions for progressing consistently toward 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches the achievement of goals that affect main areas

of economic and social development. on the other hand, every government elected naturally has the desire to impact policy directions and leave its mark. this desire is brought into sharper relief when the government relies on a fragile coalition in which the composite parties will be tested at the ballot box in the not - toodistant future ( and at timing that is not always known ). such a government has an increased natural tendency toward making decisions that focus on short - term achievements rather than the alternative of following a strategic path that was outlined by the previous government, or the fruits of which may be harvested only by the next government. the test of the government ’ s strategic work will be in implementing work plans for the government ministries that are derived from the strategic plan, and the continuity of their implementation over time and during the terms of different governments. the plans must be based on an infrastructure of broad knowledge ( in this context, the bank of israel ’ s role as a professional, and independent advisory body is important ) and on high - quality staff work in the relevant ministries, monitored when necessary by the budget department. for that purposes, it is also very important to strengthen a stable professional echelon that will ensure the proper weight is given to continuity and to a long - term vision. 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches