TEL AVIV, Israel (Reuters) - In a matter of months, Yair Lapid has turned from heartthrob television news anchor into a rising star of Israeli politics, leading a new centrist party into elections on January 22.
Lapid, 49, may prove an attractive coalition partner for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, which is widely forecast to lead the next government.
Opinion polls show Lapid's Yesh Atid party could win between six and nine seats in the 120-member parliament, a level which can earn coalition representation as Israeli governments invariably rely on small parties for a majority.
Lapid's late father, Yosef, tried as a justice minister to curb the political power of ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. Now the son is gaining popularity with younger voters by promising to relieve a housing shortage and abolish military draft exemptions for Jewish seminary students.
Interviewed at his Tel Aviv home, the former athlete spoke of a widening rift between Israel's secular majority and a growing ultra-Orthodox minority. "I feel we're at risk that a whole generation of young Israelis - who went to the army, work hard, pay taxes - one day will look around and say hey, this country is going nowhere," he said.
Israeli TV star-turned-politician seeks social reform - Read Full Story at World-Reuters
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