He has been acting since July 1, and will do so until a new government is formed after the legislative elections on November 1 in Israel. Prime Minister Yaïd Lapid hopes to remain at the head of the Israeli government on Tuesday, by rallying again a broad coalition but excluding the extreme right.
As soon as he was appointed Prime Minister, this layman rushed to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial, in order to anchor his career in the great history of the Jewish people. History of which he is a big part. Born on November 5, 1963 in Tel-Aviv, Yaïr Lapid is the father of three children, two of them with his second and current wife, Lihi, and the son of the late journalist and minister Tommy Lapid… A Holocaust survivor.
Get out of your comfort zone
Son of the recognized author Shulamit Lapid, he wrote his first texts during his military service for the army newspaper, then landing a column at the Yediot Aharonot, the best-selling title in the country, which will make it known to the general public. At the same time, he continued his jack-of-all-trades activities: amateur boxer, novelist, screenwriter and even actor. But it was on television, when he became the presenter of the most watched talk show in the country in the early 2000s, that he established himself, to the point where many began to imagine him in politics.
“At the time we were working together on the translation of one of his books. At that time, there was a lot of speculation as to whether he was going to enter politics. One day we were alone and I asked him, ”what about it?” recalls Evan Fallenberg, professor of English literature at Bar-Ilan University. He said to me: ”Look around you, who do we have politically in our generation?” He said ”Yes, I have a good life”. At the time he was hosting a smart talk show, he was writing books (…) but he added to me: ”There is a time when you have to get up, get out of your comfort zone and make a difference’ ‘” adds Evan Fallenberg.
Not taken seriously
In 2012, against the background of a protest movement on the problem of access to housing and the high cost of living, Yaïr Lapid then left the sets to launch his party Yesh Atid (There is a future). His detractors accuse him of playing on his “George Clooneyenne” photogeny and do not take him seriously. However, the success is immediate. A year after its creation, its formation has established itself as the second political force in Israel after the Likud (right) of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The former TV star becomes Minister of Finance in a coalition government of Netanyahu but when, years later, the latter is suspected of corruption, the divorce is pronounced. Under the banner of the “Blue-White” coalition, Lapid rallies, with ex-army chief Benny Gantz, centrist voices to try to dislodge Netanyahu from power. In vain.
For the 2021 legislative elections, the coalition with Gantz breaks up. Yaïr Lapid leads his own formation again and finds himself again in second place. After a decade in politics, he uses his experience to force the creation of a unique coalition in the history of Israel because it brings together right, center and left formations and, first, an Arab party. This government led by Naftali Bennett implodes a year later. On July 1, Yaïr Lapid succeeded him, ensuring the interim until November 1.
Re-establishing bridges with Democrats and Europeans
Barely named, Yaïr Lapid flew to Paris. Direction the Elysée for a warm hug to his “friend” Emmanuel Macron, symbol like him of a generation of liberal and centrist leaders fighting against “extremes”. On the spot, the tone was warm, far from the ceremonial handshakes, as if two friends met after having each climbed the steps of power. After more than a decade of reign of Benjamin Netanyahu who had influenced Israeli foreign policy on that of the American Republicans, Lapid, he is trying to restore bridges with the Democrats and the Europeans.
In Paris, he will have tried to convince Emmanuel Macron not to support a renewal of the Iranian nuclear agreement and negotiated behind the scenes the Israel / Lebanon agreement, signed Thursday, to delimit their maritime border and promote the exploitation of deposits. gas in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Since coming to power, Yair Lapid has maintained a sustained pace of military operations in the occupied West Bank, given the green light to a heavy-handed offensive against Islamic Jihad in Gaza, while declaring to the UN that he favors the “solution to two states”, a viable Palestine alongside Israel. But without saying if, in the event of staying in power, this solution will have a future.