Israel’s Netanyahu turns to humour in close race for parliamentary seats
Netanyahu turns to humour to attract voters in close parliamentary race
A young Israeli couple heading out for the evening opens the door for the babysitter and finds Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "You got a Bibi-sitter," Netanyahu says, playing on his popular nickname.
In the ad, which portrays Netanyahu as more qualified than his political rivals to safeguard Israel's children, the prime minister ends up sitting on a couch in front of the television with a bowl of popcorn.
"In all the years I've known Bibi, I've never seen him use self-deprecating humour in that way," says pollster Mitchell Barak, who has worked with Netanyahu and one of his former key campaign advisers, Republican strategist Arthur Finkelstein.
The attempt at humour is striking considering the issues at stake. Israelis are heading to the ballot as the region is set aflame by a wave of violent Islamic extremism, Palestinian peace talks stall and worsening tensions with Washington over Iran's nuclear programme.
Recent polls show Netanyahu's Likud and Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union party running nearly even in the race for parliamentary seats, with Netanyahu appearing better positioned to cobble together enough factions in a new ruling coalition.
The Zionist Union, in one of its Web ads, plays on a government report criticising the Netanyahu household for excessive spending and shows young people begging strangers on the street to donate to the prime minister and his wife, Sara.