Netanyahu: Strengths and weaknesses

By OREN KLASS
netanyahu fists 298 AJ (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
netanyahu fists 298 AJ
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Strengths: Gets his point across Netanyahu is a gifted orator, only he can do it in English too, and he has been Israel's most effective mouthpiece to the world during the recent intifada. Saved the economy While some may argue the means and consequences, Netanyahu also turned Israel's dire economic situation around under an onslaught of terror and international condemnation, saving the country from economic disaster. Tougher against outside pressure For the Israeli voter looking for a candidate who will pose the greatest obstacle to an externally forced peace deal with the Palestinians, its Netanyahu. Experience at the top Netanyahu has been prime minister before. He knows what the pressures of the job are. The Israeli voter looking to vote for Netanyahu believes he can fix past mistakes and do a better job this time around. Weaknesses: Alone in the world Binyamin Netanyahu is the Israeli candidate that the rest of the world, including the US, does not want to see elected. The Americans, Russians, Europeans, Arab world and the Palestinians predict he will be the most difficult to work with. Issues of trust Sixty percent of Israelis think that Bibi is corrupt, and 80% don't believe his campaign slogan in which he promises to eradicate poverty in three year's time. Past failures His first term as prime minister is largely considered a failure. He managed to raise the ire of those in his own party for firing those below him, and was finally thrown out of the prime minister's office after a left wing-right wing coalition decided that they had enough of him. Quick on the trigger? In the past he has made rash decisions due to his need to temporarily satisfy the public (see failed Mossad hit on Khaled Mashaal in Jordan), while Ariel Sharon said that Netanyahu, "Panicked easily in times of crises."