Last week, he held Likud rallies in Beit Shemesh, Petah Tikva, Ramle, Hadera, Herzliya and Ra’anana.
Saturday night, he was in Ma’aleh Adumim, Sunday in Nahariya and Haifa, Monday in Beit She’an and Tuesday he will speak at Likud rallies in Bat Yam and Lod.
He is even planning Likud rallies in English later this month in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
So why is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemingly everywhere?
The answer is simply – it works.
In the first two Knesset elections over the past year, Netanyahu’s strategy was to bypass the mainstream media by speaking directly to the people on Facebook Live.
Ahead of the April race, he would be interviewed by reality star Eliraz Sadeh, who would ask leading questions. Before the September race, Netanyahu would deliver long, rambling speeches, usually from his official residence in Jerusalem, or answer questions submitted on Facebook.
That did not deliver the goods nearly as well as Netanyahu’s strategy for his resounding Likud primary victory over MK Gideon Sa’ar. In the short race, he went to three cities a day, trying to personally meet as many Likud members as possible.
Now, Netanyahu is doing both: He is doing two rallies a day, and his entertaining speeches are broadcast live on his Facebook page. Members of the press are neither invited nor told in advance where his events will be held. But they are sent a link when his speeches begin, so as one Netanyahu adviser said: “You can watch from the comfort of your beds.”
The primary taught Netanyahu that the more people he meets personally, the more they feel motivated to leave home and cast ballots. He asks everyone he meets at the rallies to bring two or three friends to polling stations who did not vote last time.
After two elections, there is not much turnover between Right and Left. Increasing turnout in cities that are part of the Likud’s base could be key to getting the three additional mandates that could make the difference in the March 2 race.
So expect to see more of Netanyahu between now and the election. And after that, he will either go back to governing in Jerusalem, go home to Caesarea – or go back on the campaign trail for election No. 4.