'King Bibi' featured on cover of Time Magazine
Renowned publication devotes lead story to prime minister; cover subheading says 'He's conquered Israel, but will Netanyahu now make peace – or war?'
Time Magazine devoted its lead story to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is featured on the cover of the renowned publication, under the heading "King Bibi."
Underneath the heading, in the article, titled "Bibi's choice," author Richard Stengel describes Netanyahu's unshakable political stature, writing that he "is poised to become the longest-serving Israeli Prime Minister since David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of Israel. He has no national rival. His approval rating, roughly 50%, is at an all-time high."
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However, Stengel notes that the prime minister will be facing difficult decisions in his efforts to secure the future of Israel.
"To be a historic figure, one must make history. Now we will find out what the king really believes. Is he a statesman or a pol, a builder or a general, the Israeli leader who can finally make peace with the Palestinians or the one who launches a potentially disastrous unilateral attack on Iran?"
Netanyahu on cover of Time
In the magazine's online blog, which describes the article at length, Netanyahu is described as a controversial prime minister, whose latest move –forming a wide parliamentary coalition with Kadima party – is testimony to his political shrewdness.
The main question the author is concerned with is whether Netanyahu's reinforced political position will make him the Israeli leader to finally forge peace with the Palestinians.
"The question is whether he is a prisoner of that history or can write a new narrative," Stengel writes, adding that Netanyahu is "governing a coalition that will not leak or collapse if he opens negotiations. He will no longer have to look over his shoulder. He will not have to call elections at the drop of a hat. He has not had that before, and it gives him room to maneuver and room to compromise.
"With his bullet-proof majority, he has a chance to turn himself into the historic figure he has always yearned to be. He has become, as some commentators have dubbed him, the King of Israel," Stengel writes.
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