After two elections (2013 and 2015) in which economic issues were a central feature of the various parties’ campaigns, the current April 2019 election makes very little mention of economics. This time, the topics on the public agenda are completely different and include the various scandals involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ability of Blue and White head Benny Gantz to lead the country, and more recently, the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
The 2013 election took place with the socioeconomic protests — which erupted in Israel just a year and a half earlier (the social justice demonstrations of summer 2011) — still looming in the background. This brought issues like housing and the cost of living to the forefront. Yair Lapid, then a popular television host, decided to ride the wave and created a party called Yesh Atid, much like his father Tommy Lapid, who headed the centrist Shinui party from 1999 to 2006. The younger Lapid’s election slogan was “Where’s the money?” He ended up winning 19 seats, an excellent outcome for a new party, and was appointed finance minister.
