Mr Benjamin Netanyahu's admirers often call him The Wizard, and for good reason. Time and again, Israel's longest-serving prime minister has astonished political analysts by winning elections against all odds, cobbling together coalitions at the very last moment and maintaining the support of his followers despite innumerable about-faces.

Until now. Recently, an Israeli newspaper caricature depicted Mr Netanyahu entering a repair shop for home appliances with his magic wand. "It's totally broken," the man behind the counter tells him.