Budget approval makes Yair Lapid Israel’s new dominant politician
With the state budget approved, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is now preparing for the moment when he takes over premiership from his coalition partner Naftali Bennett.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is a busy man. Last night for instance, he met in Jerusalem with the US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and then spoke on the phone with the new Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. In both meetings he spoke not just about bilateral relations and cooperation, but also about Israel’s strategic interests. Lapid’s associates say he is perfectly at ease in his current position of Israel’s No. 1 statesperson and diplomat.
Lapid entered politics in 2012, for what became over the years a rather bumpy road. In March 2020, after a third consecutive round of elections, his political partner and head of Blue and White party, Benny Gantz, decided to establish a government with then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lapid, No. 2 in Blue and White, broke up the alliance, going back to heading his original Yesh Atid party.
Gantz explained he was joining the Netanyahu government to resolve the COVID-19 crisis. Lapid decided to stick with the agenda of putting an end to the Netanyahu regime. In other words, he remained in the opposition. At the time, this was viewed as political suicide.
Even the party founded by Yesh Atid began to doubt Lapid’s political acumen. Some party members even criticized him publicly. Lapid’s former friend and partner, Knesset member Ofer Shelah, asked that primaries be held for the heads of the party, claiming that Lapid had no chance at all in the elections.
