Bibi at press conference
Photo: Yaron Brenner
Bibi Superstar
Netanyahu sure knows how to put on a show
Man, he really knows how to put on a show, that Benjamin Netanyahu. No one is better than Bibi, when he stands up before the microphones and cameras, shifts his body from side to side, preaches to his listeners, counts his economic-security-political-social achievements, and repeats again and again his endless "me, me, me."
Attila Somfalvi is Ynet's political correspondent and analystNobody can compete with him, our former finance minister, when he suddenly announces in the middle of his speech, with no apparent reason, that he simply is unable to see his audience, and therefore decides to leave the podium and microphones in order to embark on a "trek" across the stage, resorting to his famous "going down to the people" trick.
Bibi Speaks
Attila Somfalvi
Former Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces Tuesday he will be running for Likud party leadership; says, ‘the man who received our votes to lead the party in the Likud spirit has turned his back on us. Sharon has abandoned the Likud’s principles and chose the way of the left’
Nobody can take it from him, the ability to forget that he is in the middle of a press conference, the courage to not care about the reporters and speak above their heads, declaring in the same breath that he has learned the lessons, drawn the conclusions, and is ready to return to the Prime Minister's Office.
Like bar fight in bad part of town
Those who were watching in the comfort of their living room (and were not blessed with particularly good memory,) saw a Netanyahu that is sure of himself, a superb speaker, a serious candidate for the premiership, and a politician carrying a bag filled with achievements.
They also saw a cautious politician who eradicated terrorism, did not give the Arabs any leeway, and a citizen concerned about the corruption running rampant through his country.
Yet those who were sitting on the chairs in Tel Aviv, among the dozens of Likud activists who showed up for the press conference, felt as if they were stuck in a local Likud branch meeting at some small town: It was hot, crowded, fake, and a fight broke out.
Bibi was sweating, the cheers sounded like a broken record, and the blows being traded looked like a bar fight in a bad part of town.
And all this before we even touched the substance, the words uttered by Netanyahu in his press conference. For example, the question of corruption. Indeed, most Likud Knesset members sitting behind Bibi on stage were implicated at one time or another in serious scandals, yet Bibi suddenly remembered that there's corruption in this country, that everyone is corrupt and rotten.
A little odd, as it's unclear where he was a month ago, two months ago, a year ago, when he was part of the government, and even before that, when he accepted the post of finance minister. What, he didn't know back then that there's corruption? He knew nothing about Sharon?
Two experienced boxers
However, associates of Prime Minister Sharon were well prepared for this press conference. They thoroughly collected bits and pieces of information, media interviews, Netanyahu statements from the past two years, declarations he made about almost every topic imaginable.
They were prepared for each one of his claims, and they had an answer.
Bibi added 14 reservations to the Road map? He had nothing to do with it. He even refused to attend the Aqaba summit and did not back the Road Map in the vote. Sharon is handing over the country to the Palestinians for nothing? Bibi has no diplomatic plan, Sharon's people say. What did Bibi himself get when he hugged Arafat, gave him an airport, handed over Hebron, and thanked the late Palestinian leader for his warm birthday wishes?
The commentators feel a little useless these days: In the ugly, cruel battle between Sharon and Netanyahu, which is certain to assume greater proportions as the days pass, no commentary is necessary.
All that's needed is to let the two main actors talk, say everything they're holding up inside, "compliment" each other without interruptions.
When we have such experienced boxers in the ring, it's better to remain silent, and let the bad blood that will flow tell the entire story. And the story is about one party, called the Likud, whose heads are engaged in an all-out fight for the right to lead it and sustain, completely exposed, all the blows.
The public will already judge who the bad one is, and who's even worse.
