Skip to main content

Netanyahu Teaches Lapid A Lesson in Politics

The message of support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent Finance Minister Yair Lapid was a political maneuver against Lapid, already under fire for his austerity plan, writes Mazal Mualem. 
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a special cabinet meeting marking Jerusalem Day at the Herzl Museum in Jerusalem May 5, 2013. Jerusalem Day will be marked on May 8 to commemorate the anniversary of Israel's capture of the Eastern part of the city during the 1967 Middle East War. Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved a plan to raise the 2013 budget deficit target, allowing the government to delay the most painful planned spending reductions until next year. REUTERS/Emil Salman/Pool (JERUSALE
Read in 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on an official visit in far-off China these days, expressed his full support of his Finance Minister Yair Lapid (May 8), who is the target of keen arrows of criticism in Israel. But this move of the prime minister is not as innocent as it looks.

We are not talking about a prime minister who nobly rushes to the defense of the finance minister he appointed, but instead is a man motivated by cold, political profit-and-loss considerations.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.