Rivlin may tap Netanyahu to form coalition Wednesday night – reports
President Reuven Rivlin may select Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government by Wednesday evening, according to reports in Hebrew-language media, as unity negotiations between the ruling Likud party and their Blue and White rivals appeared to break down.
Party sources quoted by media outlets said the president would delegate the formidable task to Netanyahu if there was no meaningful progress in the negotiations by Wednesday evening, when Rivlin has summoned the two-would-be prime ministers to his residence for dinner to again discuss a potential unity government.
Negotiations between representatives from the two parties took place Tuesday after Netanyahu met Blue and White chief Gantz Monday night and agreed to explore unity talks. However, they have gotten stuck on a number of issues, according to reports, including who would be prime minister first in a rotation government, and whether Likud’s right-wing and religious rivals would also be included.
Rivlin received the official results from the deadlocked September 17 election on Wednesday afternoon, beginning the one-week deadline for him to name someone to attempt to form a government.
The task of choosing a candidate for prime minister after national elections is usually a formality, but it is far more complicated this time since neither Gantz nor Netanyahu can build a stable parliamentary majority on his own.
The final results published on Wednesday saw Netanyahu’s Likud gain a seat to reach 32 of the 120 Knesset seats, one behind Gantz’s rival Blue and White party.
But since Likud’s gain comes at the expense of an allied ultra-Orthodox party, it doesn’t change the total numbr of 55 lawmakers who support Netanyahu against the 54 who back Gantz.
With Avigdor Liberman refusing to let his eight seats endorse either candidate, both Netanyahu and Gantz remain short of the required 61-seat majority.
Speculation has run rampant over whether Rivlin will tap Netanyahu or Gantz this week, or wait until after the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, which falls on Monday and Tuesday.
In either case, the person selected will face what could turn out to be an impossible mission: forming a governing coalition without a clear path to a majority.
Gantz and Netanyahu have started talks on forming a unity government, but they appear far apart on a range of issues, including who will lead it. Gantz insists he should go first and has vowed not to partner with Likud so long as Netanyahu is at the helm, citing the prime minister’s legal predicament.
Netanyahu, seeking protection from prosecution, believes he should remain as prime minister and has signed a deal with his smaller allies, including ultra-Orthodox parties, to negotiate as a “bloc.”
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has recommended charging Netanyahu with a series of corruption-related charges and is expected to make a final decision following a hearing with the prime minister set for early next month.
Wednesday night’s meeting with Rivlin, Netanyahu and Gantz will be their second since the election, and the president has repeatedly made clear he would like to see their two parties in a unity government.
He has pledged to do all he can to avoid yet another election — which would be the third in a year’s time after April polls also ended inconclusively.
“I therefore believe that the right path for the State of Israel today is to build as broad a governing coalition as possible,” Rivlin said at a Wednesday reception for foreign diplomats to mark the Jewish new year.
“It’s my opinion. I’m trying to do my best,” he said.
A rotation arrangement has been floated, but the question of who would be premier first remains a major stumbling block.
The timing in a rotation agreement is especially important for Netanyahu, who is facing possible corruption charges in the weeks ahead pending a hearing set for early October. Under Israeli law, a prime minister does not have to step down if indicted — only if convicted with all appeals exhausted — while other ministers can be forced to do so when charged.
Once a candidate is chosen by the president, they have 28 days to present a coalition to the new Knesset and win a vote of confidence. Rivlin is allowed to extend that period by up to 14 days. If that candidate fails, the second-most likely candidate is given a shot at forming a coalition.
If the second candidate also fails to form a majority government, new elections are called, unless 61 Knesset members write to the president and ask him to assign the task to a particular Knesset member.
Meanwhile, Yisrael Beitenu chief Avigdor Liberman continued to call on Gantz and Netanyahu to reach an agreement to end the political impasse and prevent a third election.
Liberman, whose secularist party has refused to endorse either of the front-runners, is insisting on a broad, secular unity government that excludes the ultra-Orthodox parties — Netanyahu’s long-time partners.
History has shown us that when he wants to be, Netanyahu is the most flexible man in the world,” Liberman posted on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon. “I hope he utilizes that same flexibility in the negotiations and stops playing the blame game about whose fault a third election would be.”