Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced with great fanfare during the Likud’s campaign ahead of the March election that he would appoint former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat as finance minister.
Three months later, Netanyahu gave that plum post to the powerful head of the Likud’s governing secretariat, Israel Katz. He appointed 14 ministers from Likud, and Barkat was not one of them.
“Nir Barkat is fit for senior positions in Likud and the government,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, it did not work out before the swearing in of the government. I will make a big effort to integrate MK Barkat into a senior post in the government in the future.”
Sources close to Netanyahu gave mixed messages for why Barkat was rejected. One source said it was because Barkat did not pose a threat to Netanyahu. Another said it was because he did.
The latter source said Barkat had built himself up too aggressively. He regularly took polls asking who is most fit to become prime minister in the post-Netanyahu era.
Barkat held a massive political rally when he launched his book. Singer Sarit Hadad sang his praises at the event, singing the same song she once sang to Netanyahu.
“I applaud the establishment of the new government, and I am glad that I have done my part for the cause, even if I do not serve as minister,” Barkat wrote on Twitter. “I run long distances, and will continue to use all my strength for our beloved state and whatever role I will play in the future.”
Sources revealed that in late-night talks with Netanyahu, Barkat was the only ministerial hopeful who refused a small portfolio. While veteran ministers such as Ze’ev Elkin and Yuval Steinitz were willing to compromise (Steinitz reportedly only after crying), for Barkat, it was big post or bust.
“I would prefer to serve as an MK and not take a portfolio that would be wasteful and get in the way of other ministers,” Barkat was quoted as telling Netanyahu.
For those who worked with Barkat in the past, including in his two terms as Jerusalem mayor, he got a needed dose of humility.
“Barkat made some positive changes to the city in his first term of office,” Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum said. “He is professional and determined and enhanced Jerusalem’s image in an impactful way. But in his second term, I believe his decisions were more politically motivated toward national politics, especially in his dealings with the haredim [ultra-Orthodox].”
Jerusalem Councilwoman Laura Wharton (Meretz) went further, calling Barkat “not a thorough or serious person.”
“I felt that justice has been done,” she said. “Nir Barkat used his position as mayor to promote himself, and I am glad his abuse of his position did not succeed in gaining him a post that he did not deserve and would not have been good at. I feel satisfaction knowing that this con man has not succeeded.”
The many enemies Barkat made on his way up the political ladder did not shed a tear as he did not succeed in climbing higher on Sunday.