Palestinian TV Show To Find Would-Be President

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent In Ramallah

Palestinians have been gulping down a dose of reality - reality television with a political twist.

The hit show, called simply The President, has grown out of widespread frustration among Palestinians at their own moribund politics in the real world.

The current president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, remains in office four years after his mandate expired.

His party, Fatah, rules over the West Bank while in Gaza, Hamas, the Islamist movement labelled a terrorist organisation by many countries in the West, reigns - also years beyond the mandate it won in 2006.

The Palestinian assembly hasn't met for many months. The roster of leaders hasn't changed for decades.

Part Apprentice part X-Factor, viewers are gripped by a show in which they get to chose who should be their next president.

The show is proving a hit with Palestinian TV audiences

Enter Raed Othman, the director general of the Ma'an broadcast network.

"I thought of this programme because we have to show that the Palestinian people understand and want real democracy. We want elections - real elections. But if we cannot have them then we can do our own," he said backstage during the filming of the latest episode of his show which has whittled 1,200 potential presidents to 16.

He added:  "There are a lot of people who say we don't have leaders, so we need to prove to them that there are a lot of leaders in Palestine. We want to teach the people that democracy is possible whenever we want".

Contestants are filmed taking on tasks - being an ambassador to a European country for a day, running a major corporation, taking questions from foreign and local journalists, even how to inspect guards of honour.

They are then put through the ringer by a panel of judges, among them leading politicians like Hannan Ashrawi, a former spokeswoman for the Arab League. Viewers combine votes sent in by text message with the judges' marks in early rounds.

The show's judges include leading politicians

The winner will be chosen entirely by the public by text.

He, or she, won't be rewarded with high office, just a modest family car. But the real prize is the opportunity to break into the Palestinian political scene.

"This programme will give me the chance, me and the other competitors, my colleagues, to get inside this procedure without needing at least 20 or 30 years of step-by-step involvement in the political situation," said Baha'a al Khateeb, an adult education manager, as he prepared to step on set - a conference room in a Ramallah hotel.

He is careful not to criticise the current Palestinian leadership. Not because he fears reprisals, Palestinians enjoy freedom of speech, but because he has spent several weeks presenting himself as a unifying figure.

Baha'a al Khateeb battles for the coveted title of 'President'

Fatah and Hamas remain bitterly opposed to each other and fought a bloody civil war in Gaza in 2007.

These divisions have weakened the ability of Palestinian leaders to negotiate an end to the occupation on the West Bank and the siege of Gaza by Israel.

Mr Khateeb, like most of the contestants, favours uniting the factions, stepping up non-violent actions and civil disobedience against the Jewish State. Plus a boycott of all Israeli products by Palestinian shoppers.

There is no immediate prospect of Palestinian elections - but by using his media exposure to call for a boycott, Mr Khateeb may have found a platform which can transform an idea into a political reality.

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