Photo Gallery The Choice for Bibi
Benjamin Netanyahu, 63, has an excellent chance of being re-elected next week for a third term as Israel's prime minister. Opinion polls show that 81 percent of Israelis believe that he will be re-elected, while 64 percent see him as the best candidate.
The Middle East is in turmoil, Iran is most likely continuing its efforts to build a nuclear bomb, and Hamas is growing even stronger in the West Bank. Nevertheless, Israelis might re-elect a man who promises the past rather than the future for another four years.
Netanyahu portrays himself as a hard-liner although he tends to be indecisive and to bow to public pressure. For example, although he said he would never negotiate with terrorists, he agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas. He also delivered a speech in 2009 in which he endorsed a two-state solution, yet he has demonstratively continued to allow settlement construction.
Netanyahu views himself as something of a second Winston Churchill, warning the world about a growing danger. He has succeeded in getting the international community to impose sticter sanctions on Iran, but at a high price: He has strained his relationship with US President Barack Obama and provoked worldwide criticism -- and the bomb still remains a potential threat.
By making concessions to settlers and religious groups in order to maintain peace and stability within his coalition, Netanyahu has strengthened parties further to the right, such as the Jewish Home party led by Naftali Bennett (seen here). If such parties perform well in the upcoming election, Netanyahu's policies might become clearer and more right-wing.
Neftali Bennett once served as Netanyahu's chief of staff, but they had a falling out after two years. Bennett studied Netanyahu's weaknesses while serving as his adviser. He knows that the prime minister expresses his policies as vaguely as possible so as to avoid losing centrist voters. These lessons have prompted Bennett to openly proclaim clear stances on a number of heated issues -- and attract many voters away from his former boss.
