Whoever missed the interview during the election campaign where Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon promised to deal with the gas monopoly despite his friendship with Kobi Maimon, one of the owners of the gas company Isramco, surely couldn’t miss it in the last few days. Kahlon’s answer has been broadcast nonstop since May 26, when he backed out of the promise and announced that he cannot deal with the issue because of his ties to Maimon.

In a conversation with Al-Monitor, a person close to Kahlon, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the original promise was made as a legitimate campaign calculation, and breaking it does not overstep the rules of the political game. He said when Kahlon was asked whether he’d deal with the natural gas situation — one of the issues most important to Israel’s economy — he had no choice but to answer decisively that he would deal with it fully.

“If Kahlon would have said that he won’t handle dismantling the gas monopoly, it would have ruined his campaign, which was all based in his battle against monopolies. From the outset Kahlon’s agenda included dealing with the monopolies in the banking sector and in the housing crisis, that was his ticket,” Kahlon’s associate said. “He understood that if he had said he won’t deal with the gas issue before the [March 17] election — he would not have gotten to the Knesset because they would have said he’s friends with tycoons and works for them. After all, everything here is slogans. In the end, despite the devastating criticism about the lie, it’s not a fatal blow. If he succeeds in dealing with the banks and housing, he’ll be judged on that. If he’ll fail — the public will send him home.”

There’s almost no other way to see Kahlon’s election promise but as a sort of barefaced lie told in front of the camera. No one apparently disputes this. But when we examine the array of circumstances and their complexity it seems that the media and political attack and the critique on social media of Kahlon is out of proportion and tinged by populism.