Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has tasked current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the next coalition government.
Rivlin, who as president must decide which candidate has the better chance of forming a coalition, originally offered Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz an arrangement whereby they would form a “unity government” and rotate as prime minister.
Both Netanyahu and Gantz turned down the offer.
With the failure of those negotiations, Rivlin decided to give Netanyahu the opportunity to build a coalition. Fifty five members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) recommended Netanyahu for prime minister, outpacing Gantz who secured 54 recommendations. Thus, Rivlin reasoned, Netanyahu has a slightly better chance of cobbling together a government.
On September 17, Israel held an unprecedented second national election within a year, after Netanyahu failed to form a coalition in the wake of April elections. The spoiler of Netanyahu’s efforts was Avigdor Lieberman, who, with his party Yisrael Beyteinu, refused to join with Netanyahu unless the latter agreed to far-reaching reforms in the relation between the state and its ultra-Orthodox residents.
Neither the right nor left wing parties currently have enough seats to form a coalition, with Lieberman again refusing to join Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is embattled on multiple fronts, as he remains at the head of a caretaker government while trying to fend off possible indictments on corruption charges. Israeli analysts have suggested there could be a third election if coalition negotiations fail this time around.