Netanyahu will try to form Israeli government but parliamentary gridlock seems likely
- The March 23 election, Israel’s fourth in under two years, did not produce a clear path for any candidate to form a majority coalition
- If neither Netanyahu nor his rivals manage to form a government, voters could be asked to return to the polls yet again
Israel’s president nominated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to try to form a government after the latest inconclusive election, but voiced doubt that any lawmaker can forge a parliamentary majority.
The March 23 election, Israel’s fourth in under two years, did not produce a clear path for any candidate to form a coalition capable of commanding a majority in the 120-member parliament, prolonging an unprecedented phase of political gridlock.
On Monday, President Reuvin Rivlin held the traditional round of consultations that follow each Israeli election, seeking recommendations from party representatives on who they want to form a government.
Netanyahu secured 52 recommendations, counting 30 from his right-wing Likud party, plus support from Israel’s two ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious parties and the far-right Religious Zionism alliance.
Centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid earned 45 endorsements. There were 16 abstentions and religious nationalist leader Naftali Bennett claimed the seven votes controlled by his Yamina party.