Isaac Herzog elected Israel’s 11th president as opposition coalition races to oust Netanyahu as PM

The Israeli presidency exerts little power, primarily meeting with party leaders after legislative elections and tasking candidates with forming governments

But the president does have the ability to grant pardons – a potentially important function as Netanyahu faces trial for alleged fraud, bribery and breach of trust

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Israel’s President-elect Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal. Photo: EPA

Published: 9:54pm, 2 Jun 2021Updated: 9:54pm, 2 Jun 2021

Israel’s parliament elected the even-keeled Labor veteran Isaac Herzog as its 11th president on Wednesday, a vote that came as opposition lawmakers scrambled to forge a coalition to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.

Herzog, 60, beat former headmistress Miriam Peretz to replace President Reuven Rivlin, who was elected in 2014 to the largely ceremonial position decided by the parliament, or Knesset.

Wednesday’s presidential vote came as Israeli politicians from across the spectrum were holding 11th-hour negotiations to cobble together a new administration aimed at ending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s 12 straight years in office.

The high-stakes push for a new government is led by former television presenter Yair Lapid, a secular centrist who three days earlier won the crucial support of hardline religious nationalist Naftali Bennett.

Lapid has reportedly agreed to allow Bennett, a 49-year-old tech multimillionaire, to serve first as prime minister in a power-sharing agreement, before swapping with him after two years, halfway through their term.

The Israeli presidency exerts little power, primarily meeting with party leaders after legislative elections and tasking candidates with forming governments. It is the country’s prime minister who wields actual executive authority.

But the president does have the ability to grant pardons – a potentially important function as Netanyahu faces trial for alleged fraud, bribery and breach of trust.