Play audio
1XChange playback rate from 1 to 1
Mute audio
This panned out very well for Yair Lapid, who founded Yesh Atid a decade ago, but he managed to put together a real party with local headquarters and grassroots activists, and to portray himself as being in it for the long haul. Lapid is a consistent politician, a genuine leader.
For a time this was also true of Moshe Kahlon, who leveraged his great popularity as a result of his telecom reforms to found his Kulanu party. But he failed where Lapid succeeded. Everything relied on his personal charm, which was gradually eroded during his time as finance minister. Charisma or political accomplishments are a necessity for the success of a personality party, but they aren’t enough.