The public furor against Minister of Finance Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party, following the publication of the budget and its austerity measures, have resulted in a major change in the public relations stance of the minister's bureau. It has switched from talking points about the need for painful measures to change priorities in favor of the working man and pulling the economy out of the mire to talking points about inescapable measures to prevent the collapse of the economy. "Globes" has obtained the full page of talking points made two weeks ago and another page of talking points made a few days later.
At the top of the page of talking points from May 7, when the budget and its austerity measures were published, is emphasized, "The budget - the working man at the center". But the talking points failed to placate the public or the critics. Lapid's bureau, which considers the talking points that are also used by Yesh Atid MKs as a legitimate media tool, therefore updated the talking points on May 15.
The tone of the talking points page of May 15 changed to become scarier for the public, and worthier about Lapid, by saying that the painful measures in the budget were needed to save the economy from collapse. Lapid's bureau also instructed its staff and party members to put a greater emphasis on actions against tycoons and big companies, possibly in an attempt to draw away fire.
While the original talking points page mentioned the good of the working man, "the budget mire", and the national overdraft, and did not mention the word "collapse"; the updated talking points page has a different emphasis. "The measures that the finance minister was forced to take were emergency measures to stop the hemorrhaging of the economy. We must close the budget hole. If we don’t close the overdraft, the Israeli economy will collapse," states the updated talking points.
Another new talking point says, "The easiest thing to do is to act like the previous government, which brought the inconceivable NIS 35 billion overdraft. Lapid chose to act like a responsible leader and take unpopular measures, otherwise we would end up like Greece."
The new talking points also put greater emphasis on the "social" aspect, which was not at center stage in the talking points of May 7. Among other things, the talking points of May 15 state, "What else could we do? NIS 200 million was allocated for the Ministry of Social Affair's nutritional security program; NIS 500 million was allocated over five years for Holocaust survivors; NIS 200 million was allocated in 2013-14 for building infrastructure to integrate haredim (ultra-orthodox) in the work force; the education budget will be increased by NIS 6.5 billion; taxes have been levied on luxury goods; and the rich won't receive the child allowance."
Alongside these talking points, the tarpaulin was stretched to cover the flags that Yesh Atid raised during the elections, including, "This budget is the first stage on the road to recovery. The next stage will come now."
Talking points responding to accusations about "broken promises to voters" also appear. They include: "The anger is understandable. The austerity measures are painful and severe… If we don’t fix things now, Israel won't have a middle class, it will simply be crushed"; "The blow is not only to the middle class, it is to everyone". The talking point from Lapid's bureau stressed, "We stand behind the promises and we will keep them, but change takes time."
The talking points of May 15 also emphasize other targets, possibly to divert the public's anger and criticism: the tycoons, the big companies, and prices. The talking points of May 7 make only one reference to tycoons ("who distorted laws in their favor") as part of a general talking point that also mentioned other groups, including politicians, wheeler-dealers, non-productive sectors, the bloated defense system, and "people who have decided not to work because they feel like it."
The talking points of May 15 strike a different tone: "We'll open negotiations with the big companies, which pay negligible taxes under signed agreements with the state in order to change this situation, and we will complete the concentration in the economy law." Another talking point says, "The work by the committee which will recommend ways to protect the public interest in the country's natural resources will soon begin. The committee will also examine the tycoons' debt settlements."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 21, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013