ASHDOD, Israel — Wandering this week through the tables of a cafe not far from the grand City Hall, you could pick up one single name mentioned over and over again.

That same name was the talk of the town when I visited Ashdod just before the parliamentary elections in January. However, at the time, Minister of Finance Yair Lapid was seen as a rising star, the savior who was sure to come to the rescue and bail out the state of Israel and, in particular, the growing city of Ashdod. This week, residents of this city on the shore of the Mediterranean were talking about him as if he had contracted the black plague. There was no one left to stand up for his economic policy, in which he recently proposed budget cuts and tax hikes. “If he carries on like this,” said Aryeh, one of the diners, “he is bound to disappear from the political map just as quickly as he appeared on it.” The others nodded their agreement.

A few months ago, it all looked different. Lapid, the prince who had just made his entry into Israeli politics, arrived in Ashdod as part of his election campaign. I, too, went there for the very same purpose, in my capacity as a Knesset member on behalf of the Labor Party. As I was leaving the office of Ashdod Mayor, Yechiel Lasry, Lapid was on his way in. Municipal employees came out of their rooms to have a close look at the new political meteor. Some pressed his hand in silent greeting, while others, unable to contain their admiration, fell on his neck. Lapid hugged and caressed and kissed his hosts as if he had been born for the role.

Back then, he had already emerged as a promising figure who could be counted on to stir up a political revolution. Even before the election, he was marked as heralding a new era in the stale and fossilized political system. And although he was perceived as a symbol of wealthy Tel Aviv, the residents of Ashdod found in Lapid a natural ally and partner for their aspirations for the development of their city.