Nir Barkat Reveals Prime Minister Ambitions in Israel

Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat made a notable dual declaration about his political future in a recent interview: he voiced support for limiting prime ministers to two terms in office, and later acknowledged he would be interested in competing for the premiership himself after Benjamin Netanyahu's tenure ends.

Barkat made these comments during an interview with Eli Gottlieb on the "Kikar FM" podcast, produced by Kikar Hashabat, a religious news site. The interview came against the backdrop of recent reporting by political commentator Amit Segal alleging that Barkat attempted to orchestrate Netanyahu's removal from office.

The conversation began when Barkat was asked whether he eventually felt a sense of exhaustion during his decade as mayor of Jerusalem. "Yes, ten years," he replied. "Look, what you don't accomplish in two terms, you won't accomplish in three or four."

When Gottlieb asked whether Barkat applies the same principle to the prime minister's office, the minister answered affirmatively. "In my worldview, yes. I think we learned in the IDF—they say in the IDF that the cemeteries are full of people who were indispensable. It's healthy, it's more correct to do it that way, but I go with the flow," Barkat said.

At this point, Barkat was asked explicitly whether he would support legislation to limit prime ministers to two terms. The economy minister replied clearly: "Yes, I would, yes."

Immediately after expressing support for term limits, Gottlieb posed the direct political question: "At the end of this journey, Nir Barkat as prime minister of Israel?"

Barkat first emphasized his support for Netanyahu, but did not close the door on the possibility of running for the position in the future. "First, we have a prime minister and I support him and I'll do everything to help him. Talk to me the day after, we'll talk," he said.

When Gottlieb responded, "So the answer is yes?" Barkat did not deny it, instead saying: "It depends on the public."

Netanyahu and Barkat (Photo: Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)

On Tuesday evening, political commentator Amit Segal published allegations about what he described as Barkat's effort to replace Netanyahu. According to Segal, the organizing began as early as October 2023, when Barkat held intensive consultations with his advisers aimed at ousting Netanyahu and securing his own appointment as prime minister.

Segal reported that Minister Haim Katz was the one who informed Netanyahu about the alleged effort. "On the last day of November 2023, Haim Katz comes to Netanyahu and tells him about the putsch," Segal wrote. According to the report, once Netanyahu learned of the initiative, he began working to dismantle it through "maintenance conversations, promotions, and dispatching one of the rebels to a position abroad."

Segal claimed that between October 2023 and March 2024, Barkat attempted to act against the government from several directions. According to the commentator, Barkat tried to bring down the budget, criticized the government from the right, and later attempted to outflank it from the left. Segal described the effort as "expensive, clumsy and failed."

Segal further alleged that during this period, Barkat met with ministers, Knesset members and media figures, trying to convince them he was the right person to lead the country. "In between, he met with ministers, MKs and media people—I'm not one of them—and explained to them why only he could save the country," Segal wrote, adding: "The country, surprisingly, was not convinced."

According to Segal, after the effort collapsed and Barkat failed in his campaign, the minister tried to strengthen his standing among Likud party members through a claims fund against Channel 12. That initiative, too, did not achieve significant success, according to the report.