The first measure of the success of a campaign in general, and a political one in particular, is the ability to maintain tension and stay on the public agenda. A limited number of issues can be at the top of the agenda, and the public relations person's job is to make sure that the candidate and the party are there the whole way.
A well-oiled array of public relations professionals has been built around former Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who understand public opinion in its innovative form. Unlike in the past, today, between one election campaign and the one that follows it, the rules of the game change.
If Begin used to deliver fiery speeches in public squares, he doesn't anymore. The idea behind today's public relations campaign is to achieve more with less. In the new era, where every word is documented and every mistake is given a variety of interpretations within minutes, in the multitude of new media and social networks, the rules of the game have completely changed.
In the new era, we are all media people; we all have the ability to respond to information we are exposed to in an instant. The era of sending a letter to the editor and anxiously waiting to see if it would be published a week later is over. If in the past we sat in front of the radio and just absorbed information, today the process is two-way, and we all have the ability to respond to whatever comes to our mind.
It's good for us - our voice is heard more than ever; for politicians a little less so, if only because the new situation narrows their range of deviation, and they are not allowed to make mistakes.
And so Gantz remained silent. Because his public relations people, who have been working hard in recent months to market him as an attractive product for everything - understood that they must not make a mistake. They have a former chief of staff, a handsome and well-mannered man, who is not controversial, and from here there is only room to go down.
And it is not without reason that in all public opinion polls, Gantz is second to Netanyahu, both in the number of mandates and in the question of suitability for government authority.
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In preparation for the launch at the Exhibition Center, which was Gantz's official entry into politics, he prepared quite a bit, which was evident from the moment he entered the hall and made the long, measured way to the speaking stage, while shaking hands with a smile and hugging his supporters.
But it seems that Gantz has worked more than anyone else on his ability to speak in front of an audience, which is not at the core of his qualities. This is no small feat, when he is facing Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the greatest and most experienced orators of our generation.
Netanyahu, as the recently screened documentary film "King Bibi" aptly describes, has been working on his performance and public speaking skills since the early 1980s. Since then, he has accumulated an impressive ability that leaves him unrivaled in the local market. This ability of Netanyahu's has had a significant impact on the political system over the past half-century.
Gantz appeared tonight as someone who worked intensively with his public relations people on his public speaking skills. In previous speeches, when he was still Chief of Staff, he did not excel, to say the least, in public speaking. His performances were confused and lacked concentration, and it sometimes seemed that he did not enjoy standing behind the microphone.
Tonight was different. Gantz arrived prepared, he wasn't alarmed by the initial interjection against him, and he calmed those present. He seemed relaxed and even excelled in self-humor about his prolonged silence.
He adjusted his voice, spoke in short sentences and gave full time to the audience's applause, something Netanyahu has been good at doing for many years above any possible stage.
Later, when he touched on the security issue, he looked directly at the camera and addressed a strong message to Iranian President Rouhani, Qassem Soleimani, and Hassan Nasrallah. Because Gantz also understands what Netanyahu learned long ago: the way to the heart of the Israeli voter runs through Iran.
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