Profile: Avigdor Lieberman, the 'Accountant of the Change Bloc' – Sharp and Smart, but Struggling to Connect Emotionally
A profile of Avigdor Lieberman describes his campaign style as the 'accountant of the change bloc' – a sharp and clever politician who relies on numbers and arguments but struggles to connect emotionally with the audience. The article describes a meeting with retirees in an assisted living facility in Rehovot, where Lieberman paints a grim picture of the state of affairs, attacks the Haredim and Netanyahu, but avoids answering the audience's questions or presenting an encouraging vision. The article criticizes his inability to create a dialogue and his dismissive attitude toward his change-bloc partners.
A profile of Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, describes him as the 'accountant of the change bloc' – a sharp and clever politician who relies on numbers and arguments but struggles to connect emotionally with the audience. The article describes a meeting with retirees in an assisted living facility in Rehovot, where Lieberman paints a grim picture of the state of affairs: tens of billions for corrupt Haredi nonprofits, 100 billion added to the defense budget, and American aid lost due to reckless foreign policy. Lieberman attacks Netanyahu for ignoring Hamas tunnels in 2014 and clarifies that there is no agreed-upon prime minister in the change bloc – 'We'll decide after the elections.' The article criticizes his inability to create a dialogue: he initially refuses questions, takes only two, and refers to his bloc partners (Eisenkot, Golan) as 'neighbors in the building' rather than ideal partners. The article ends with a sense of missed opportunity – Lieberman fails to provide hope or emotional connection to voters.