Palestinian presidential show

Aspiring young politicians compete in a new television game show entitled ‘The President’

By JIHAN ABDALLA
The President tv show (photo credit: MOHAMAD TOROKMAN / REUTERS)
The President tv show
(photo credit: MOHAMAD TOROKMAN / REUTERS)
Outside a conference room at an upscale hotel in Ramallah, contestants nervously chat among themselves before they are called to appear before the judges. The contestants are participants in a new television game show in which they compete to become the nation’s next president.
“The President,” a cross between “American Idol” and “The Apprentice,” has become an instant hit among Palestinians who are frustrated with the grim political realities of the Palestinian territories. The show assigns contestants with tasks and challenges, such as running a major corporation, being an ambassador to a foreign country and hosting a state dinner.
They also get a chance to address the Palestinian people in front of a panel of judges on what they would do in a variety of scenarios, if they were president. The judges, made up of politicians, professors and businesspeople, grade them, and with input from the audience seal the fate of the contestants.
The new president will win a car and the hope of entering the realm of Palestinian politics. From the 1,200 contestants who applied, all under age 35, only eight remain.
The program is run by Palestinian news agency Ma’an. Producers say the idea was to do a local game show that addresses local political, social and economic issues on a democratic platform.
Mohammed Fawzy, director of the show, said the finalists who have made it this far into the competition “truly deserve it. Most have political ambitions and think this show will save them 20 years of political work to become known in society,” Fawzy tells The Jerusalem Report.The contestants’ last task was to perform the duties of a president, acting according to official protocol while hosting an official guest. The contestants say, in addition to being an opportunity to learn new skills, the show is also a rare chance for their marginalized generation to air their views.
“The show is an opportunity for youth to assume their role in the decision-making process on the Palestinian level,” Bahaa Al Khatib, 26, one of the contestants tells The Report. “I have hopes that through this show, I can have a role in the future as a leader.” Al Khatib adds that people on the street already recognize him, and that he receives dozens of supporting messages daily from viewers on his Facebook page.
According to official statistics, almost a third of the 4.3 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are aged between 15 and 29. But scant economic opportunities and an unemployment rate of over 30 percent in Gaza and 20% in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, puts even further away the possibility of meaningful political participation, let alone challenging their aged Palestinian leaders.
Judges say the show addresses the political vacuum that is present in the Palestinian scene. Since signing the Oslo Accords with Israel 20 years ago, which gave Palestinians limited self-rule over parts of the West Bank, they have had just two presidents.
In 1996, Yasser Arafat was elected for a five-year term, but he ruled without another election until he died in 2004. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, elected in 2005, has already overstayed his mandate by four years. He admits that elections are long overdue but says reconciliation must first be reached between the two rival parties, Fatah and Hamas.
The Fata h-dominat ed PA supports peace negotiations with Israel that would give Palestinians an independent state in the West Bank and in Gaza. The Islamist group Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in a brief civil war in 2007, does not recognize Israel. Fatah and Hamas have been bitter enemies since the split, and though “reconciliation efforts” have been ongoing for years, no significant progress has been made.
After Prime Minister Salam Fayyad resigned in April, Abbas, 78, has no obvious rival or successor. But while Palestinian politics may be in a moribund condition, the paralysis has not stifled youthful debate.
“Which assassinations of world leaders in your opinion changed the course of history?” asks Ahmad Tibi, Arab Member of Knesset and one of the panel judges.
“The assassination of [prime minister Yitzhak] Rabin,” contestant Hussein al Deek, dressed in a sharp suit, says confidently. “It killed off the peace process.” The judges nod their heads with approval and ask several more questions.
“This is something new, a departure from the familiar,” Tibi tells The Report.
“The contestants and the judges discuss the various issues from a critical perspective.
This indicates a healthy atmosphere and is a sign of the desire for participation by youth who long for change.”
Mass protests have removed longtime leaders in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, and Syria is engulfed in a bloody civil war.
But the so-called Arab Spring has had very little impact on the Palestinian territories, which are still largely governed by aged, traditional leaders.
Show producers say the program can at least offer a platform to discuss the muchneeded change in Palestinian politics through the generation that is affected by it. “We don’t want to follow the Egyptian model nor the Syrian model of protest,” Fawzy says. “We want to use media, and whoever thinks they have the solutions should come forward.”
And yet, despite being driven by new ideas and the desire for change, the contestants find out that leadership is no easy task. During the last simulated exercise, several contestants fumbled with even the seemingly simple tasks, with some forgetting to greet their guests properly, allowing for moments of awkward silence, and even nervously dropping utensils during the meal.
“This show opens a lot of horizons, addresses youth, empowers them and gives them confidence,” Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Palestinian Executive Committee and panel judge says. “It also exposes to the rest of Palestinian public opinion all the challenges of being a president.”
In the bustling streets of downtown Ramallah, the de facto capital of the PA, residents crowd the shops that line both sides of the main street.
“I think it’s a great show,” says Majed Salama, 33, sitting in a café. “Unlike all the other reality shows, it actually has substance to it.” The show producers say there are no exact rating figures, but their phones ring nonstop with young people asking if the show will run next year.
“The word president in Palestine means one of two people, who are both men,” says Wafa Sharaf, 22, a university student as she walks on the street with her girlfriends.
“So in terms of just challenging that term, I think the show is quite brave.” Sharaf says she supports the remaining female contestant and hopes she wins the title.
Sabri Saidam, an adviser to Abbas who also served as a jury member for one of the episodes, said the president is aware of the show and supports its concept. “This show is a big nod to youth, youth issues and gender equality,” Saidam tells The Report.
“Encouraging them is our duty.” 