If there’s one thing that unites politicians from across the political spectrum, it is their unwillingness and inability to admit mistakes and apologize. Finance Minister Yair Lapid is no different, but as someone who took the political arena by storm, promising a “new kind of politics,” expectations of him were much higher and the disappointment in him was much greater. The finance minister and chairman of the Yesh Atid party could have walked away from the embarrassment surrounding the appointment of a new governor of the Bank of Israel with his dignity intact. All he had to do was to work up the courage to get up before the public and apologize for his failure.

While it is true that the prime minister is also involved in this fiasco, it is Lapid who disappointed the public more than anyone. No one expected him to engage in such a shallow and amateurish process when selecting the person to fill one of the most important posts in the Israeli economy. After all, it is Lapid who invested so much effort in shaping his image as a different kind of politician — more evenhanded, more professional, and more rational than the others. Just imagine what Lapid the journalist would have written about a finance minister who failed twice to appoint a new governor of the Bank of Israel. It would certainly be a scathing, arrogant text mocking him.

Nevertheless, Lapid, who is a political novice, could have been forgiven if he had been able to engage in some kind of introspection and apologize to the public for the embarrassment caused by blaring headlines in the world’s economic press. But even after former Governor of the Bank of Israel Jacob Frenkel and Leo Leiderman withdrew their candidacies, Lapid continued to do what he always does. Not only did he fail to express his regrets, he treated the whole situation lightly and made a big joke out of it, like he was some passerby who just happened to be there.

Frenkel was forced to withdraw his candidacy when news of an embarrassing incident that occurred seven years ago finally hit the press. The once and potentially future governor was suspected of shoplifting at Hong Kong Airport. Over the past few weeks, Frenkel has been unable to provide a reasonable explanation as to what actually happened there, and a dark cloud still hovers over his integrity and reliability. None of that interests Lapid. This is how he responded on his Facebook page late last month [July 29], after Frenkel announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy. “We really lost out. Frenkel could have been exactly what we needed: an experienced, wise and competent governor who decided to forego a fortune to do another term of service in the reserves. … If our public discourse continues to be so aggressive and disrespectful, we’ll never be able to convince anyone to come and contribute to the state. Wouldn’t that be a pity?”