Israel’s Netanyahu secures mandate to form next government
- Israel’s president officially tapped former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government
- It opens the door for the likely return to power of the long-serving leader after a one-year hiatus
Israel’s veteran former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a mandate on Sunday to form a new government, paving the way for his comeback at the helm of what is expected to be the most right-wing administration in the country’s history.
After a period of unprecedented political gridlock tested the electorate with five votes in fewer than four years, the November 1 election gave Netanyahu and his far-right allies a clear majority in the 120-seat parliament.
“I have decided to assign to you, Benjamin Netanyahu, the task of forming a government,” President Isaac Herzog told him at a ceremony in Jerusalem.
Accepting the mandate, the 73-year-old right-wing politician widely known as “Bibi” vowed to serve all Israelis, “those who voted for us and those who did not – it is my responsibility”.
Netanyahu, who is fighting corruption allegations in court, will have at least 28 days to build a coalition with his allies – two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and a rising extreme-right alliance called Religious Zionism.
Herzog noted Netanyahu’s ongoing trial: “I am not oblivious, of course, to the fact that there are ongoing legal proceedings … and I do not trivialise this at all”.